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CORNELL 

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COBNEU UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 



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MAJSrUAL 



Universal Church History, 



REV. DR. JOHN ALZOG, 

Professor of Theology at the University of Freiburg-. 



TKANSLATED, WITH ADDITIONS, FKOM THE NINTH AND LAST GERMAN EDITION, 



F. J. PABISCH, 

Doctor of Theology ^ of Canon and of Civil Laxv^ President of the Provincial 
Seminary of Mount St, Mary'^s of the West^ Cincinnati^ O, 



Rev. THOS. S. BYRNE, 

Professor at Mount St. Mary^n Seminary, 

In Three Volumes. 

■With thkeb Chkonological Tables and three Ecclesiastjco-geogkapiiical Maps. 



VOLUME II. 



CINCINNATI, O. 
ROBERT CLARKE & CO. 

1876. 



i I I 'i , M 



//- 1 y Cf g-f- 



CORNELL 

'UNlVERSITYl 
LIBRARY 



Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1876, by 

ROBERT CLARKE & CO., 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Stereotyped by Ogden, Campbell & Co., Cincinnati. 



PREFACE. 



The second volume of the translation of Dr. Alzog's 
Universal Church History, like the first, enjoys the sanction 
of the proper ecclesiastical authorities. The translators take 
this occasion to thank many prelates of the country for their 
cordial approbation ; and reviewers, Catholic and non-Cath- 
olic, at home and abroad, for their judicious notices and 
words of encouragement. 

Much will of course be said of the bulk of the present 
volume, but no one can be more alive to the fact than the 
translators themselves, or more sincerely wish the pages were 
fewer than they are. Under the circumstances it could not 
be otherAvise. First of all, the work of editing has been far 
more extensive and laborious in this than the precedipg vol- 
ume. While conscientiously careful not to omit a single sen- 
tence of the original, the translators have introduced much 
that is wholly new, from reliable sources, relating chiefly to 
countries where the English language is spoken, and in some 
sections — as, for instance, in that treating of the British Isles — 
have used the text only as an outline for their guidance. The 
labor which such additions unavoidably entailed, will, in a 
measure, account for the delay in bringing out the book. 

Again, the author has himself made very im|)ortant 
changes and considerable additions in the later German edi- 
tions of his history, which are now reproduced for the first 
time in a translation. In preparing his eighth edition Dr. 
Alzog entirely recast his former text-book of one volume, 
added much new matter, partially improved the faults of 
brevity and obscurity in his sentences by the employment of 
a more copious diction, and issued the work as a Manual in 

(iii) 



iv Preface. 

two volumes^. In the ninth edition he made similar improve- 
ments, both as to matter and form, many portions being not 
only revised, but entirely rewritten. 

The fourth and last edition of the French translation by 
Goeschler and Audley, edited by Abbe Sabatier, and pub- 
lished in 1874-75, is, as far as the French Revolution, based 
on the seventh German, and from 1789 to our own time on 
the eighth, which a]ppeared respectively in 1859 and 1867. 
The English translation is the only one made on the ninth 
and last German edition, published at Mentz in 1872, and 
contains, moreover, the latest additions and amendments of 
the author, which he was kind enough to send the translators 
in September last, and which include the latest historical re- 
searches. The author has also promised to send others in 
time to be embodied in the next volume. 

It may be well to state here that Dr. Alzog has given this 
translation his fullest approbation, has generously foregone 
the privileges of his copyright, and allowed the work to be 
put on sale in Great Britain and Ireland. 

Lest any one should think that the translators are in- 
clined to put too high an estimate on Dr. Alzog's work, it 
may be well to quote here what has been said of it by Dr. 
Kraus, himself the author of an excellent Church History,^ 
and therefore entitled to speak with some authority. " Since 
Dollinger's Text-book," says he (Ch. Hist., Preface), "is in- 
complete, and Eitter's Manual has, in a great measure, grown 
obsolete, the only available book we have now is Dr. Alzo^-'s 
Manual and Abridgment of Church History." They may 
furthermore add that they have been most conscientious as to 
the truth of every statement made, whether in the original or 
in their own additions, and have in no instance rested content 
with anything short of absolute accuracy where this was pos- 



1 Dr. F. X Kraus, Text-book of Ch. H., 3 vols., Treves, 1872-1875. 



Preface. v 

sible. " To arrive at truth," says a distinguished modern 
writer,^ "is the object, the duty — nay, the joy— of the histo- 
rian. Once he has found it, he admires its dignitj', appi-e- 
ciates its convenience — because it alone clears up all diiEcul- 
ties — never ceases to pursue and love it, and constantly aims 
at portraying it or something which he mistakes for it.' 
Such also has been their aim and recompense. Any other 
policy would be dishonest and fraught with disaster. These 
are serious times ; there are only two camps and two standards 
in the intellectual and religious world now. Under the one 
are ranged the defenders ; under the other, the enemies of the 
Church, for those who are not with her are against her. The 
eyes of all, friends and foes alike, are turned toward those 
centuries which it is the custom to call the Middle or Dark 
Ages, whose history, traditions, and institutions modern sci- 
entists, because they fear their influence, afi'ect to despise. 
But, for good or for evil, their history is being studied and 
studied thoroughly. Is it not, therefore, the highest duty, as 
well as the highest wisdom of the historian, to tell the naked, 
unvarnished truth about them ? Is it honest, is it profitable, 
to conceal disagreeable facts — facts which, though humili- 
ating, are far better told frankly by a friend than openly 
paraded and misrepresented by an enemy? Such has been 
the course pursued in this history. The truth has been plainly 
spoken, without addition and without diminution, irrespective 
of whom it may benefit or harm. " Ought history," asks 
Pgre Lacordaire, " hide the faults of men and orders ? It was 
not," he replies, " in this sense that Baronius understood his 
duty as an historian of the Church. It was not after this 
fashion the Saints laid open the scandals of their times. 
Truth, when discreetly told," he continues, " is an inestimable 
boon to mankind, and to suppress it, especially in history, is 



1 M. Thiers, Histoire du Consulat et de I'Empire, Vol. XVI., p. 418. 



vi Preface. 

an act of cowardice unworthy a Christian. Timidity is the 
fault of our age, and truth is concealed under pretense of re- 
spect for holy things. Such concealment serves neither God 
nor man. God indeed has conferred upon His Church the 
prerogative of infalllihlity, but to none of her members has 
He granted immunity from sin. Peter was a sinner and a 
renegade, and God has been at pains to have the fact recorded 
in the Gospel." ^ 

Dr. Alzog by no means merits the rebuke conveyed in 
these indignant words, and the Church will be no loser by his 
honesty. She is the house of the living God, the pillar and 
groundwork of the truth, the source of all holiness, and in 
these she is without spot or blemish. Her faithless children 
may indeed be a reproach to her, as they have been in every 
age, but once history has shown that in ceasing to be obedient 
to her teaching and her precepts they have also ceased to be 
loyal to the highest principles of Christianity, and the noblest 
instincts of our manhood, her victory will be complete and 
her triumph glorious. 

The Translators. 



MouKT St. Mart's of the West, 

Feast of the Immaculate Co^•cEPTIo^^, a. d. 1875 



.} 



1 Lettre du Pere Lacordalre a I'abbe Perreyve, 2 avril, 1855. Foisset, Vie du 
P. L. II. 632. 



SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 



OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 



SECOND PERIOD. 

THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH PREDOMINANT AMONG 
THE GERMANIC AND SLAVIC NATIONS— SHE CONVERTS 
THEM TO CHRISTIANITY, AND CIVILIZES THEM— HER 
HISTORY TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

§ 144. Character of the Roman Catholic Church during the Present 

Period 1 

First Epoch — From the Migration of the Germanic and Slavic Nations to the 
Pontificate of Gregory VII., a. b- 1073. Foundation of the Ecclesiasti- 
cal Supremacy of the Middle Ages. 

PART FIRST. 

From the Foupih Century to the Death of Charlemagne, A. i). 814. 

§ 145. Sources and Works 12 

146. Religion of the Germans 13 

147. Religious Belief of the Germans in Scandinavia 17 

CHAPTER I. Propagation of Christianity. 
I 148. Among the Goths 20 

149. Christianity among the Visigoths — Their Kingdoms in Gaul 

and Spain 24 

150. The Vandals in Africa 26 

151. The Burgundians and their Relations to the Church 30 

152. Ravages of the Huns in Germany, Gaul, and Italy 31 

153. The Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy 33 

■ 154. Benedict of Nursia — Western Monasticism 4C 

155. Christianity among the Franks — Triumph of Catholicity 46 

(vli) 



viii Contents. 



g 156. Christianity in the British Isles 50 

157. Christianity in Germany and the adjacent Countries 96 

158. Christianity among the Frisians — Reverses of tho Christians 

in Spain 109 

159. Labors of St. Boniface 112 

160. The Conversion of the Saxons 120 

CHAPTER II. Modifications in the Relations and Organization of the Church. 
§ 161. The Church in her Eolations to the Germanic States— Close 

Alliance of Church and State 125 

162. Enlarged Possessions of the Church 130 

163. Increased Dependence of the Church upon the State — Admin- 

istration of Metropolitan and Diocesan Sees 132 

164. The Primacy — Spiritual Power of the Popes 1*38 

165. Temporal Power of the Popes — Establishment of the States 

of the Church .' 141 

166. Foundation of the Christian German, or Restoration of the 

Roman Empire of the West 147 

CHAPTER III. Religious Life — The Glergij — Discipline. 

§ 167. Religious Life 153 

168." The Clergy— Their Canonical Life— The Monks 156 

169. Penance and Discipline 162 

CHAPTER IV. Scientific Labors of the Germans. 
§ 170. General Character of Science during this Epoch 167 

171. Progress of Science in Italy, Spain, and the British Isles 167 

172. Labors of Charlemagne for the Diffusion of Knowledge 171 

173. First Heresies — Adelbert and Clement — Adoptionism 174 

174. Charlemagne 182 

CHAPTER V. The Greek Church. 
g 175. General View 189 

176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Rapid Progress 191 

177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts in the East and in the 

Prankish Empire. 

A. — Byzantine Iconoclasts 206 

B. — The Iconoclastic Controversy in the Prankish Empire. 218 



Contents. ix 



PART SECOND. 

History of the Catholic Church from the Death of Charlemagne to the Pontificate 

of Gregory VII., 1073. 
g 178. Sources— Works 223 

CHAPTER I. Progress of Christianity among the Germans — Conversion of 

Slavic Nations. 

§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia 224 

180. The Slavonians and their Mythology 235 

181. Conversion of some of the Slavonic Nations 238 

182. Conversion of the Poles 246 

183. Christianity in Hungary 250 

HAPTER II. The Papacy and the Empire. 
g 184. Summary 253 

A. — The Popes under the Carlovingians. 

185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons 254 

186. Progress of the Power of the Popes from a. d. 855 to 880 — 

False Decretals of Isidore 268 

B. — Deplorable Condition of the Papacy in the Tenth Century. 

187. The Roman Pontificate during its disgraceful Dependence 

upon Tuscan Domination 292 

C. — The Papacy after the Restoration of the Empire. 

188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors 298 

189. The Popes under the Franconian Emperors 315 

190. Continuation — Popes elected through the Influence of Hilde- 

brand 320 

191. Retrospect 334 

CHAPTER III. History of the Constitution of the Church. 
§ 192. The Church in her Relations to the State 337 

193. Ecclesiastical Supremacy of the Popes 342 

194. The College of Cardinals 344 j 

195. Metropolitans, Bishops, and their Dioceses 348 

196. Church Property 354 

197. Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction — Immunities of the Clergy 356 I 



Contents. 



CHAPTER IV. ReligiousLife— Worship— Discipline. 

§ 198. The Morals of the Clergy 357 

\.f 199. Religious Orders of this Epooh 3.59 

200. Condition of the Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 306 

201. Religious Worship during this Epoch 394 

202. Ecclesiastical Discipline 405 

CHAPTER V. Theological Scimce and Heresies. 
g 203. Theological Literature— Works and their Authors 421 

204. New Controversy on Predestination, occasioned by the 

Teachings of Gottschalk 425 

205. First Controversy on the Eucharist — Pasohasius Eadbert 430 

206. Second Controversy on the Eucharist, occasioned by the . 

Writings of Berengarius of Tours 441 

CHAPTER VI. Memorable Events in the Greek Church. 
§|a07. Eastern Schism — Photius — Eighth Ecumenical Council 449 

208. Revival of the Schism by Michael Cerularius 462 

209. Learning among the Greeks 466 

210. Conversion of the Chazari, Bulgarians, and Russians by the 

Greeks t. 468 

211. Sects of the Eastern and Western Churches 473 

212. Retrospect 475 

SECOND EPOCH. 
FROM GREGORY Vll. (a. d. 1073) TO THE OPENING OF THE 
WESTERN SCHISM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIX- 
TEENTH CENTURY— THE PAPACY IN THE MIDDLE AGES- 
HEIGHT AND DECLINE OF ITS POWER. 

PART FIRST. 

Hise and Height of the Papal Power in the Middle Ages,frhm the Accession of 
Gregory VII. to the Death of Boniface VIII. (a. d. 1073-1303.) 

g 213. Outline— Sources, and Works referring to them. 477 

CHAPTER I. History of the Papacy. 

A. — From Gregory VII. to Callxtus II. — From the Beginning of the Contest on 
Investitures until its Termination by the Concordat of Worms (a. d. 1122). 

§ 214. Pope Gregory VII. (a. d. 1073-1085) 481 

215. Victor IIL (a. d. 1087)— Urban II. (a. d. 1088-1099) 51] 



Contents. 



g 21G. The Crusades 517 

217. Paschal 11. (a. n. 1099-1118)— Gelasius II. (a. d. 1119)— Calix- 

tus n. (a. d. 1119-1124) 523 

Ninth Ecumenical Couacil (a. d. 1123) 530 

B. — From Honorius to (he Death nf Eugene III. (a. d. 1153) — Italian Itepuhll- 
canisrn — Arnold of Brescia — Second Crusade — >S'^ Bernard and his Work, 
"Be Cunsidcralioiie.'' 

g 218. Honorius II. (a. n. 1124-1130)— Innocent II. (a. d. 1130-1143) 
—Lucius II. (a. d. 1144-1145)— Eugenius III. (a. d. 1145- 
1153) 538 

C. — The Hundred Years Struggle between the Popes and Hohenstaufens — Fred- 
eric I., Henry VI., Frederic II., Conrad IV., and Conradin (j A. ii. 12C8). 

I 219. Hadrian IV. (a. n. 1155-1159)— Alexander III. (a. d. 1159- 
1181) — Frederic I., and Henry II., King of England — Thomas 

a Becket 547 

Pope Hadrian's Bull concerning Ireland 554 

Eleventh Ecumenical Council (1179) 56S 

220 Lucius III. (a. D. 1181-1185)- Urban III. (a. d, 1185-1187)- 
Gregory VIII. (a. n. f 1187)— Clement III. (a. n. 1187-1191) 
— Celestine III. (a. d. 1191-1198)— Frederic I.— Henry VI... 569 

221. Innocent Hi. — His Relations to the Princes of Europe 573 

Twelfth Ecumenical Council (a. d. 1215) 583 

222. Honorius III. (1216-1227)— Gregory IX. (1227-1241)— Inno- 

cent IV. ( 1243-1 254)-^Clement IV. (1265-12G8) in opposition 
to Frederic II., Conrad IV., and Conradin, last scion of the 
House of Suabia 

223. Crusades of St. Louis (IX.) — Pragmatic Sanction 600 

B. — Bee/inning of French Influence — Tardiness of Papal Elections. 

224. Gregory X. (a. n. 1271-1276)- Council of Lyons— Death of St. 

Thomas Aquinas and of St. Bonaventure — Eudolph of Ilaps- 
burg GO-t 

225. The Popes from Innocent V. (a. d. 1276) until the Abdication 

of Celestine V. (a. d. 1294) 607 

226. Boniface Vlll. (a. d. 1294-1303)— Philip IV., King of France.. 6J4 

227. General View of the Temporal and Spiritual Power of the 

Popes during the Middle Ages ,..., 630 



xii Contents. 



CHAPTER II. The Other Members of the Hierarchy— Administration nf 

Dioceses. 

g 228. The Clergy in their Relations to the State 640 

229. The Csu-dinals 044 

230. Administration of Dioceses 046 

28.1. The Morals of the Clergy 648 

232. Church Property..; OoO 

CHAPTER III. Fartatical and Refractory Sects. 

I 233. General View 652 

234. Tanchelm, Eon, Peter of Bruis, Henry of Lausanne, and the 
Passagians 654 

235. The Waldenses 058 

236. The Cathari and the Albigenses 661 

237. Remarks on the rigorous Measures employed against these 
Sects 667 

238. Amalric of Bena — David of Dinanto — Brethren and Sisters of 
the Free Spirit —Apostolic Brethren 672 

CHAPTER IV. History of Religions Orders. 

§ 239. Introduction 6S1 

240. The Cistercian Order CSS 

241. The Order of Grammont 6S8 

242. The Carthusians , 6S9 

243. The Premonstratensians 692 

244. The Carmelites and the Order of Fontevrault 094 

245. Anthonists, Trinitarians, and Humiliati 697 

246. The three great Military and Religious Orders 700 

247. Mendicant Orders — St. Dominic and St. Francis of Assisi 707 

248. Iniluence of the Mendicant Orders — Opposition raised against 
them 7] 9 

249. Divisions among the Franciscans 721 

A-" 250. Other Orders and Confraternities 723 

The True Picture of Monastic Life 725 

CHAPTER V. History of Theological Science. 
I 251. Transformation of Cloister and Cathedral Schools into Uni- 
versities 728 

252. Scholasticism and Mysticism 732 

253. St. Anselm of Canterbury 740 







Gontenis. xiii 



Controversy on E-ealism, jSTominalism, and Conceptuiilism 712 

§ 254. Controversy concerning Scholasticism and Mysticism — Abe- 
lard, Gilbertns Porretanus, and St. Bernard 74C 

255. Attempts to check the Vagaries of Speculation — Robert 

PuUeyne, Peter Lombard, Hugh and Richard of St. Victor.. 754 

256. The Mystics 752 

257. Second Period of Scholasticism un-der the Franciscans and 

Dominicans 7G5 

258. The Other Sciences — Religious Poets — National Literature 784 

CHAPTER VI. Hdiglous and Moral Life — Penitential Discipline — Propaga- 
tion of Christianity. 

g 259. Religious and Moral Life 790| 

260. Penitential Discipline — ^.Jubil&e Indulgences 795/ 

2G1. Conversion of Pomerania and the Island of Rtigen '80O 

2G2. Conversion of Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland 802 

203. Christianity in Prussia 803 

264. Conversion of th-e Mongols by Western Missionaries 806 

The Greek Church 810 

PART SECOND. 

From the Death of Boniface VIIL to the Western Schism {i^ D. 1303-1517) 
— Decline of Mediaeval Papal Supremacy — Transition to its Condition in 
Modern Times — Peformatory Councils. 

g 265. Literature — Character of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 

Centuries 816 

CHAPTER I. Constitution of the Church as regards her Exterior Development. 

A, — The Popes of Avignon, or the Babylonian Capiivily (1309-1378). 
§ 266. Translation of the Holy See to Avignon — Benedict XI. 

— Clement V 819 

Fifteenth Ecumenical Council 820 

267. John XXII.— Benedict XII.— Clement VI.— Struggle with 

Louis the Bavarian 829 

268. Innocent VI.— BL Urban V.— Gregory XI 838 

B. — Great Western Schism (a. d. 1378-1417 and 1439-1449) — Popes at Borne 
and at Avignon — Reformatory Synods of Pisa, Constance, and Basle. 

§ 269. Urban VI.— Boniface IX.— Innocent VII.— Gregory XII 845 

270. Council of Pisa (1409)— Alexander V.— John XXIII 85S 



xiv Contents. 



§ 271. The Council of Constance (1414-1418) 858 

272. Eugene IV. — Nicholas V. — The Council of Basle; its Protest 

against being transferred to Ferrara and Florence — Emperor 
Sigismund — Albert II. — Frederic III 874 

C. — The Last Popes of this Period — Fifth Council of Lateran. 

273. Calixtus III.— Pius II.— Paul II.— Sixtus IV.— Innocent VIII. 

—Alexander VI 897 

274. Julius II.— Synod of Pisa— Fifth Council of Lateran— Leo X. 914 

275. Eeview of the Situation of the Papacy 922 

27C. Pievipw of the Condition of the other Members of the 

Hierarchy 92G 

277. Morals of the Clergy 928 

278. iSfegotiations with the Greek Church for a Restoration of 

Union — Seventeenth Ecumenical Council at Ferrara and 
Florence 931 

CHAPTER II. Heresies and Heretical Sects. 

g 279. John Wickliflfe (a. d. 1324-1384) '. 947 

280. John Huss (1373-1415)— The Hussites 952 

The Hussite Wars 967 

281. German Theology 971 

282. The Heretics, John Wesel, and John van Goch, and the 

Zealots, John Wessel, and Jerome Savonarola 973 

283. The Inquisition 979 

CHAPTER III. Ecclesiastical Science. 

I 284. Scholasticism during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. 988 

285. Mysticism— The Friends of God 993 

286. The so-called Revival of Learning by the Humanists 1000 

287. The Study of Holy Scriptures— Spread of the Bible among 

the People 1007 

CHAPTER IV. Spiritual Life-— Worship — Penitential Discipline. 

\ 288. Spiritual Life 1014 

289. History of the Older Religious Orders 1019 

290. Reform of the Older Orders 1021 

291. New Orders \Q22 

292. Independent Associations 1025 



Contents. xv 



I 293. Worship during this Epoch 1026 

294. Christian Art 1038 

295. Penitential Discipline 1056 

296. Propagation of Christianity and Conversion of the Jews 1058 

297. Retrospect of the Influence exercised by the Catholic Church 

during the Middle Ages 1064 



1. Chronological Table of Popes and Emperors 1069 

II. Chronological Table of Principal Personages and Events 1073 

III. Chronological Table of Councils 1087 

Eoclesiastico-Geographical Map 1097 



SECOND PERIOD. 

THE mFLUBNCE OF THE CHUECH PREDOMHSTANT 
AMONG THE GERMAlSriC AND SLAVIC NA- 
TIONS. SHE CONVERTS THEM TO CHEISTIAN- 
ITY, AND CIVILIZES THEM. HER HISTORY TO 
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 

§ 144. Character of the Roman Catholic Church during the 
Present Period. 

Eelic of Mdhler's (Hist. Polit. Papers, Vol. X., p. 564-574.) t*^. v. Gorres, 
1. 1. year 1851, Vol. XXVIII., p. 397-407. The same Six Lectures on the Fun- 
damental Principle, Method, and Chronological Sequence of Universal History, 
Breslau, 1830. De Broglie, le Moyen age et I'Eglise catholique, Paris, 1852. 
Montalembert, in tlie Introduction to his Monks of the West, Boston, 1872. 

A strange feeling of sadness comes over the historian when 
about to enter upon the Middle Ages. The Ancient Worid, 
shrouded in all the glory of the past, and rich in the splendid 
and incomparable creations of the human mind,, is rapidly 
passing out of view, and G-raeco-Roman civilization, poisoned 
and rotted to the very core, is about to fall to pieces, to be 
again restored for a season, by the benign and energizing in- 
fluence of Christianity, to Domething of its ancient strength 
and beauty. But Roman society had spent its vital forces 
and vivifying energies ; had become a physical and a moral 
wreck, and had already gone beyond all possibility of radical 
and perfect cure, before it passed under the influence of the 
Church. And, though she might give a lease of existence 
and impart a measure of her own beauty to a body whose 
very life-springs were well-nigh dried up, she could not again 
make it what it once had been, or restore to it the graceful 
symmetry and agile strength that it had once possessed. But 
she did what she could ; and then bore away to an honorable 
VOL. II — 1 



Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 



grave a civilization whose vital powers were exhausted, and 
whose remedy was beyond her reach. 

The Ancient World, weary of the very refinement of its 
culture, and disheartened at the problem of life, had neither 
the energy to rouse its vital forces into action, nor the courage 
to put an end to an existence that had long since become 
useless. The great Eoman Empire, whose name was once so 
respected and whose power was so irresistible, lay like some 
shattered form, worn with fatigue and enervated with excess, 
when the Germanic nations, led on by a higher impulse than 
barbarous instinct, came forth from their mountains and for- 
ests in the North, and precipitated themselves with resistless 
fury upon the fertile plains of the South. Barbarity hovered 
like some dense storm-cloud over the fair face of Europe, 
ready at any moment to break and shroud in a night of chaos 
those once flourishing seats of learning and civilization. But 
amid the wreck of the Ancient World, where all around was 
desolation and ruin, these young and vigorous nations of the 
l^orth came into contact with a divine and spiritual power 
by which their rude and untutored strength was overawed 
and subdued, to which they bowed down and did homage, 
which they shortly accepted as the inspirer of their lives and 
the guide of their conduct, and which they finally reverenced 
as a teacher and a ruler, and cherished as a fond and solicitous 
mother. 

At the opening of the Middle Ages, a new scene of action 
is entered upon, and possesses, in the character of the conflicts 
in which Christianity will engage, and in the triumphs which 
it is destined to achieve, features peculiarly its own. The 
home of culture and refinement and the center of great events 
have been permanently transferred from the East to the West, 
and from the South to the N"orth. 

Again, among the nations of antiquity, the aims, the hopes, 
the aspirations, and the endeavors of man were centered in 
the political importance and temporal prosperity of the State. 
and he possessed no motive of action higher or more potent 
than these could supply. The security and well-being of the 
Commonwealth were the sufficient aim and purpose of his 



§ 144. Character of the Church during the Present Period. 3 

life. These were his sole and his all, and constituted the one 
supreme rule of his conduct. 

But in the Middle Ages all this is changed. The motives 
and purposes of human exertion reached out beyond all ob- 
jects of sense, and up into a region of thought higher and 
more pure than any merely natural aspirations could inspire. 
Hence the character of the progress of mankind will not, in 
time to come as in time gone by, vary with the varying char- 
acter of the difi'erent nations, as each comes to the front upon 
the political stage of the world, and, after a season, passes 
away to make room for its successor, but will have one dis- 
tinguishing and family feature which will be unmistakably 
impressed upon all the nations of Europe, because the indi- 
■s'idual purposes, aims, and aspirations of each will be the 
common purposes, aims, and aspirations of all, and each sep- 
arately, and all combined, will employ the same means to 
work them out. These nations are introduced to history in 
the infancy of their civilization, and their road of passage to 
a vigorous manhood is clearly marked across the centuries 
of the Middle Ages. 

In the countries now inhabited by the barbarian conquerors 
of the Roman Empire, and daring these ages, when, accord- 
■ ing to the tine expression of Herder,^ " the barque of the Church 
was freighted ivith the destiny of ynanJdnd," the Church took up 
a new position and pursued a line of action to which she had 
no parallel in her past history. 

Furnished with all the external implements of conquest 
the wealth of ancient culture could supply, and preserving 
that internal compactness and strength which were a con- 
sequence of her well-ordered hierarchy, she went forth to 
the conflict among the rude and barbarous peoples of Europe, 
whose souls she regenerated and whose hearts she sub- 
dued. Having thus lifted humanity up to a higher estate, 
she proclaimed herself its guardian, and, as such, canned the 
weight of her influence into every great question of public 
and private life; extended the circumference of her jurisdic- 
tion till it included questions of a purely civil character; and 



^Herder, Ideas on the History of Mankind. Stuttg. 1828, Pt. IV., p. 208. 



Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 



finally her Supreme Head, who during this period reached the 
zenith of his power, arbitrated between princes and subjects, 
and nations and peoples. 

The principle of unity running through the many and di- 
verse tendencies of mediaeval national life, giving the char- 
acter of oneness to what would else be but a tangled and 
unintelligible mass of facts, is entirely due to the subduing 
and predominant influence of the Church and the energizing 
life of her religion, whose teachings schooled the minds of all 
to common purposes of action, inspired them with common 
motives, and furnished a common center, toward which every 
endeavor gravitated, and in which might be found its suflicient 
explanation. Hence the very character and genius of the Middle 
Ages are but the natural outgrowth of religion and of the 
social oi'ganization that came into existence under its influence. 

Some writers prefer to find in the condition of the Church, 
at this time, only a fit subject for hostile criticism, and the 
abundant source of all the evils that came upon the Middle 
Ages ; while others, more temperate and unquestionably more 
fair, candidly admit that, in this age when civilization was 
still in its infancy, she alone possessed and preserved the 
pi'inciple of spiritual and moral fecundity which was to work 
out the full development of mankind thoughout all coming 
time.^ That the Church exercised a beneficent action and a 
salutary influence upon the Middle Ages, has been asserted 
and maintained by men of every shade of opinion, whose 
ability is beyond all reasonable question, and whose princi- 
ples are such as to acquit them of any suspicion of undue 
partiality. 

Herder, the eloquent panegyrist of humanity, says, in his 
Ideas on the History of Mankind:^ "It is doubtlessly true to 
say that the Roman hierarchy was a necessary power, without 

'■tWiihrer, The Beneficent Influence of the Church during the Middle Ages 
for the Decrease of Ignorance, Barbarity, and Lawlessness. {Pletz, New Theol, 
Journal, Vienna, 1831,Tol. I., p. 219 sq.) t-KoSer, Influence of the Church and her 
Legislation on Morality, Humanity, and Civilization during the M. A. (Tubing. 
Theol. Quart. 1858, pp. 443-449.) Compare G-uizot, I'gglise et la societe chre- 
tienne, Paris, 1861, p. 65.. 

2 Ideas on the Hist, of Mankind, Pt. IV., p. 303. Of. p. 194 sq. 



§ 144. Character of the Church during the Present Period. 5 

which there would have been no check upon the untutored 
nations of the Middle Ages. Without it, Europe would have 
fallen under the power of a despot, would have become the 
theater of interminable conflicts, and have been converted 
into a Mongolian desert." 

And the great historian of Switzerland discourses as fol- 
lows upon the same subject: "All the enlightenment of the 
present day, whereof the daring spirit of Europe will not 
permit us to forecast the ultimate consequences, either to our- 
selves or to the other nations of the world, came originally 
from that hierarchy which, Vv'hen the Roman Empire fell to 
pieces, sustained and directed the human race. It imparted, 
60 to speak, to the mind of Northern Europe, which as yet 
possessed neither elevation nor grasp of thought, a stirring, 
an energizing, and a life-giving impulse, under the impact of 
which it was carried forward, retarded indeed by manj? ad- 
verse and accelerated by some favorable circumstances, till it 
finally achieved the triumphs that are now before the world.^" 

To put forward the correct view, and to establish it by well- 
ascertained and irrefragable facts, is the simple duty of the con- 
scientious historian. His work is greatly facilitated by the 
historical researches of modern times. These, whether pur- 
sued by Catholic or Protestant scholars, are more reliable and 
impartial than those of former years, and have shed so much 
light upon the particular question in point, and rendered so 
large a measure of justice to the Middle Ages, as a whole, 
that the most reluctant and stubborn minds will be forced 
to admit that freedom, elevation, enlightenment, and moral 
grandeur — not servitude, depravity, ignorance, and immoral- 
ity — were the distinguishing characteristics of these Ages of 
Faith. In proof of this, the following authorities may be 
quoted : 

1. Galls, in his Voices of the Middle Ages,^ says : " One may, 
in this day, indulge the hope that these voices froTn a distant 
past will not return void or die away without calling forth a 
responsive and generous sympathy. The age of rigid, ortho- 

'^Johnv. MiiUer, Hist, of Switzerland, Book III., c. 1, "Hierarchy." 
'Halle 1841, Preface, p. vi. 



Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. 



dox Lutheranism, which spurned every effort of the human 
mind having the most remote connection with the Middle 
Ages, has long since passed away. We are now far removed 
from those days, when men professed to see in the Reforma- 
tion the dawn of that glorious light which we now enjoy; 
and in the Middle Ages, but a long and hopeless night, over- 
cast with a deep darkness, the fit accompaniment of igno- 
rance and barbarity." 

2. Jacob Grimm; in his Antiquities of German Law,^ says : 
" The wise men of our generation judge of the Middle Ages 
with about as much fairness as they do of our ancestors of 
ancient Germany. The ancient poetry of the Germans, which 
brings before the mind, in a hundred living and glowing pic 
tures, the whole-souled and gladsome life of bygone days, haa 
been reproduced; but to what purpose? It shonld seem that 
the senseless gabble about the right of the strong and the op- 
pression of feudal lords would never cease. People talk as 
though we were strangers to misery and wrong in these latter 
days; as though there was not one gleam of hope and com- 
fort to soften and soothe the sufferings of the past. Well and 
good ; but from a legal point of view, I will venture to assert 
that the bondage and servitude of past ages was less harsh 
and more tolerable than is the condition of our own oppressed 
peasants, and of the overtaxed jonrneymen of our factories. 
The difiiculties to be encountered by the poor, and those who 
go out to serve, in procuring a license to marry, border on 
servitude," etc. 

■3. Daniel, in his Theological Controversies,^ says : " We have 
all got into the habit of asserting, over and over again, like 
a set of parrots with whom it has become a sort of law to 
hold such language, that the Middle Ages were ages of ig- 
norance and corruption; and we would listen to one demon- 
strating that two and two make five with far more temper 
than we should exhibit in entertaining the thought that the 
darkness which was then upon the earth was not so thick 
that one might cut it with a knife." 



1 2d ed. Gottingen, 1854, Pre£ p. xxL sq. 
2 Halle, 1843, p. 73. 



§ 144. Character of the Church during the Present Period. 7 

All this is indeed bad enough; but, if possible, a worse 
service is done the Middle Ages by those authors who set out 
with the distinct purpose of writing up everything connected 
with them; who set them up as models of civil and ecclesias- 
tical polity, and who propose, for permanent imitation to all 
future time, a condition of things which was itself the effect 
and outcome of a state of transition.^ 

" The Middle Ages," says Bohmer, "from having been long, 
unfairly represented, have now come to receive an undue 
measure of praise. If, on the one hand, the powers of the 
soul developed with wonderful wealth and beauty, and pro- 
duced immortal works of great depth and learning, it should 
not be forgotten, on the other, that traces of barbarism are 
everywhere visible." 

"The Middle Ages," adds Kraiis,^ "were a season of young 
and luxuriant growth, and produced abnormal and extrava- 
gant examples of both goodness and wickedness. They were 
distinguished by loftiness, originality, and strength of char- 
acter, in a degree to which no preceding or succeeding age 
can furnish a parallel; because only an age of simple, living, 
and vigorous faith is capable of producing great and noble 
charactei's. JSTor can it be denied that the higher aspirations 
of intellectual life during the Middle Ages were directed to- 
ward speculation and scientific method. But their strength 
lay not in this direction. Political theories, poetical crea- 
tions, and works of fiction, in which the warm and briljiant 
imagination of the writer not unfrequently borders on the 
extravagant, are the characteristic intellectual productions of 
these youthful nations. If there be one thing more apparent 
than another, in all their works of art, in their majestic 
Gothic cathedrals, and in their theories and speculations, it 
is a reaching out after something higher and holier than 
earth — an attempt to rise up to the very throne of Heaven, 
to come nearer and nearer to the Most High God. It is not 
wonderful, then, that with aspirations so lofty, they should 
lose sight of the mere objects of sense that surrounded them 

J Kraus, Text-Book of the Ch. Hist, of the Middle Ages. Treves, 1873, Vol. II., 
p. 205. (Tk.) 
2 Ibid. p. 206. 



8 Period 2. Epoch 1. PaH 1. 

on every side. Like some inexperienced child, they gazed in 
admiration and wonder upon the phenomena of nature, and 
regarded it as they might a riddle of which the solution had 
been lost. They possessed but a vague knowledge of the 
history of mankind, and antiquity was to them visible only 
in undelftned outline, and lay at so great a distance behind 
them that they could catch but imperfect glimpses of it 
through the hazy medium of legendary lore. But few had 
any proper appreciation of the office and importance of his- 
tory. Under such circumstances did these nations enter upon 
the arena of the civilized world to undertake the solution of 
the problems of life. They were ignorant of the past, and 
had no concern in its affairs; but they were keenly alive to 
the needs of their own times, and met them, as they suc- 
cessively came up, with astonishing versatility of resource. 

" Borrowing but little from the ancient civilization of the 
nations they had conquered, they created a civilization pecu- 
liar to themselves, of which the prominent features were 
feudalism and chivalry, vassalage and the hierarchical organ- 
ization of the States General. Civil equality was indeed en- 
tirely unknown to the Middle Ages; but, for all this, taking 
all the institutions of that period, one with another, and it 
can not be denied that they were more conducive to freedom 
and independence than any which characterized Europe from 
the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, and than many which 
exist in a number of European states in our own day. The 
full development of the hierarchy, which had now grown 
wealthy and powerful; the astonishing growth of monasti- 
cism ; the influence of religion, by which the authoritv of the 
Church was reverenced and obeyed by men in ever}- walk of 
life ; and finally, the exaltation of the Papacy and the restora- 
tion of the TTestern Empire through its exertions, complete 
the picture of the Middle Ages— a period which, when every- 
thing is taken into account, is great and memorable in tl e 
annals of mankind, which we have no wish to see restore I, 
but of which we have no reason to be ashamed." 

Xo man was better qualified than Count Jlontalembert to^ 
appreciate justly and depict faithfully the characteristic traits 
of the Middle Ages ; and no man has done so with greatei 



§ 144. Character of the Church during the Present Period. 9 

power and brilliancy. The reader will pardon us, therefore, 
for giving his words at some length ■} 

The Middle Ages stand unfortunately between two camps at the deepest 
enmity with each other, which only agree in misconstruing it. The one hate 
it, because they believe it an enemy to all liberty ; the others praise it, because 
they seek arguments and examples there to justify the universal servitude and 
prostration which they extol. Both are agreed to travesty and insult it — the 
one by their invectives, the others by their eulogiums. 

I affirm that both deceive themselves, and that they are equally and pro- 
foundly ignorant of the Middle Ages, which were an epoch of faith, but also a 
period of strife, of discussion, of dignity, and, above all, of freedom. 

The error common to both admirers and detractors of the Middle Ages con- 
sists in seeing there the reign and triumph of theocracy. It was, they tell us, 
a time distinguished forever by human impotence, and by the glorious dictator- 
ship of the Church. 

I deny the dictatorship, and I still more strongly deny the human impotence. 

Humanity was never more fertile, more manful, more potent ; and as for the 
Church, she has never seen her authority more contested in practice, even by 
those who recognized it most dutifully in theory. . . . 

Eeligion, it is true, governed all ; but she stifled nothing. She was not ban- 
ished into a corner of society, immured within the inclosure of her own tem- 
ples, or of individual conscience. On the contrary, she was invited to animate, 
enlighten, and penetrate everything with the spirit of life ; and after she had 
set the foundation of the edifice upon a base which could not be shaken, her 
maternal hand returned to crown its summit with light and beauty. None 
were placed too high to obey her, and none fell so low as to be out of reach 
of her consolations and protection. 

From the king to the hermit, all yielded at some time to the sway of her 
pure and generous inspirations. The memory of Eedemption, of that debt 
contracted toward God by the race which was redeemed on Calvary, mingled 
with everything, and was to be found in all institutions, in all monuments, and, 
at certain moments, in all hearts. The victory of charity over selfishness, of 
humility over pride, of spirit over flesh, of all that is elevated in our nature 
over all the ignoble and impure elements included in it, was as frequent as 
human weakness permitted. That victory is never complete here below ; but 
we can affirm without fear, that it never was approached so closely. Since the 
first great defiance thrown down by the establishment of Christianity to the 
triumph of evil in the world, never perhaps has the empire of the devil been 
so much shaken and contested. 

Must we, then, conclude that the Middle Ages are the ideal period of Christian 
society ? Ought we to see there the normal condition of the world ? God for- 
bid I 111 the first place, there never has been, and never will be, a normal state 
or irreproachable epoch in this earth. And, besides, if that ideal could be real- 
ized here below, it is not in the Middle Ages that it has been attained. These 
ages have been called the ages of faith; and they have been justly so called, 
for faith was more sovereign then than in any other epoch of history. But 



1 Monks of the West, American ed., Vol. I., Introd. p. 120-131. 



10 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 

there we must stop. This is much, but it is enough for the truth. TTe can not 
venture to maintain that virtue and happiness have been throughout these ages 
on a level with faith. A thousand incontrovertible witnesses would rise up to 
protest against such a rash assertion, to recall the general insecurity, the too 
frequent triumphs of violence, iniquity, cruelty, deceit, sometimes even of re- 
fined depravity ; to demonstrate that the human and even diabolical element 
reasserted, only too strongly, their ascendency in the world. By the side of 
the opened heavens, hell always appeared ; and beside those prodigies of sanc- 
tity which are so rare elsewhere, were to be found ruffians scarcely inferior to 
those Roman emperors whom Bossuet calls " monsters of the human race." 

The Church, which is always influenced up to a certain point by contempo- 
rary ci filization, endured many abuses and scandals, the very idea of which 
would to-day horrify both her children and her enemies. They proceeded some- 
times from that corruption which is inseparable from the esercise of great power 
and the possession of great wealth ; sometimes, and most frequently, from the 
invasions of the lay spirit and temporal power. Yes, cupidity, violence, and 
debauchery revolted often, and with success, against the yoke of the Gospel, 
even among its own ministers ; they infected even the organs of the law pro- 
mulgated to repress themi. 'tt'e can, and ought to, confess it without fear, 
because all these excesses were redeemed by marvels of self-denial, penitence, 
and charity; because beside every fall is found an expiation; for every misery, 
an asylum; to every wickedness, some resistance. Sometimes in cells of mon- 
asteries, sometimes in caves of the rocks ; here, under the tiara or the miter ; 
there, under the helmet and coat of arms, thousands of souls fought with glory 
and perseverance the battles of the Lord, fortifying the feeble by their exam- 
ple, reviving the enthusiasm even of those who neither wished nor knew how 
to imitate them, and displaying, over the vices and disorders of the crowd, the 
splendid light of their prodigious austerity, their profuse charity, their unwea- 
ried love of God. But all this dazzling light of virtue and sanctity ought not 
to blind us to what lay beneath. There were more saints, more monks, and, 
above all, more believers, than in our days; but I do not hesitate to say that 
there were fewer priests, I mean good priests. Tes, the secular clergy of the 
Middle Ages were less pure, less exemplary than ours; the episcopate less 
respectable, and the spiritual authority of the Holy See much less sovereign 
than now. This assertion will, perhaps, astonish some in their ignorant admi- 
ration; but it is not the less easy to prove it. The pontifical power has, at the 
present time, subjects less numerous, but infinitely more docile. "What it has 
lost in extent, it has more than gained in intensitv. ... 

rS'ever, then, was anything more false and puerile than the strange pretense, 
maintained by certain tardy supporters of the Catholic renaissance, of present- 
ing the iliddle Ages to us as a period in which the Church was always victorious 
and protected; as a promised land flowing with milk and hontv, governed by 
kings and nobles piously kneeling before the priests, and by a devout, silent, 
and docile crowd, tranquilly stretched out under the crook of their pastors, to 
sleep in the shade, imder the double authority of the inviolably respected throne 
and altar. Far from that, there never were greater passions, more disorders, 
wars, and revolts ; but, at the same time, there were never greater virtues, more 
generous eflTorts for the service of goodness. All was war, dangers, and tem- 
pists in the Church, as in the State; but all was likewise strong, robust and 



§ 144. Character of the Church during the Present Period. 11 

vivacious : everytliing bore the impression of life and strife. On the one side, 
faitli — a faith sincere, naive, simple, and vigorous, witliout hypocrisy as without 
insolence, neither servile nor narrgw-minded, exhibiting every day the imposing 
spectacle of strength in humility; on the other, institutions militant and man- 
ful, which, amid a thousand defects, had the admirable virtue of creating men, 
not valets or pious eunuchs, and which one and all ordained these men to action, 
to sacrifice, and continual exertions. Strong natures everywhere vigorously 
nourished, and in no direction stifled, quenched, or disdained, found their place 
there with ease and simplicity. Feeble natures, with the fiber relaxed, found 
there the most fitting regimen to give them vigor and tone. "Worthy people, 
relying upon a master who undertook to defend all by silencing or enchaining 
their adversaries, were not to he seen there. "We can not look upon these 
Christians as on good little lambs, bleating devoutly among wolves, or taking 
courage between the knees of the shepherd. They appear, on the contrary, 
like athletes, like soldiers engaged every day in fighting for the most sacred 
possessions ; in a word, like men armed with the most robust personality and 
individual force, unfettered as undecaying. 

As for those among its detractors who accuse the Catholic past of the "West- 
ern races of being incompatible with freedom, we can oppose to them the unani- 
mous testimony, not only of all historical monuments, but of all those democratic 
writers of our own day, who have profoundly studied this past. Above all, of 
M. Augustin Thierry, who has shown so well how many barriers and guaran- 
ties had to be overthrown by royalty before it would establish its universal 
sway. This ancient world was bristling with liberty. The spirit of resistance, 
the sentiment of individual right, penetrated it entirely ; and it is this which 
always and everywhere constitutes the essence of freedom. That freedom has 
established everywhere a system of counterpoise and restraint, which rendered 
all prolonged despotism absolutely impossible. Eut its special guaranties were 
two principles which modern society has renounced — the principles of heredite 
and association. Besides, they appear to us under the form of privileges, which 
is enough to prevent many from understanding or admiring them. 

It was the energetic and manly character of their institutions and men which 
secured the reign of liberty in the Middle Ages. "We have already pointed this 
out, but we can not reyert to it too often. Everything there breathes freedom, 
health, and life — all is full of vigor, force, and youth. 'Tis like the first 'burst 
of nature, whose spontaneous vigor had not yet been robbed of any portion of 
its grace and charm. "We see limpid and healthful currents everywhere spring- 
ing forth and extending themselves. They encounter a thousand obstacles and 
embarrassments upon their way; but almost always they surmount and over- 
throw these, to carry afar the fertilizing virtue of their waters. 

Weakness and baseness ! these are precisely the things which were most com- 
pletely unknown to the Middle Ages. They had their vices and crimes, 
numerous and atrocious; but in them proud and strong hearts never failed. 
In public life as in private, in the world as in the cloister, strong and magnani- 
mous souls everywhere break forth — illustrious character and great individuals 
abounded. And therein lies the true, the undeniable superiority of the Middle 
Ages. It was an epoch fertile in men — 

"Magna parens virum." 



FIRST EPOCH. 

FROM THE MIGRATIO]^ OF THE GERMANIC AOTD 
SLAVIC iTATIOXS TO THE POI^TIFICATE OF 
GREGORY Vn., a. d. 1073. 

POUNDATION OP THE ECCLESIASTICAL SUPEEMACT OP THE 
MIDDLE AGES. 

PART FIRST. 

FI,OM THE FOUKTH CENIUET TO THE DEATH OF CHARLEMAGNE, 

A. D. 814. 

' I became all things to all men that I might save all." I. Cor. Ix. 22. 

§ 145. Sources and Worlcs. 

Meifminii rer. German, scriptores, Helmsti 1688 sq. 3 T. foL Leibnitii scriptores 
rerum Brunsvic. illustrationi inservientes, Hanov. 1707 sq. 3 T. fol. Frehert 
rerum Germ, scriptor. ed. Siruve Argentor. 1717 sq. 3 T. fol. Ussermanni 3Ionu- 
menta res Alemannicas illiistr., typis St. Blasian. 2 T. 4to. '-Pcrtz, Monumenta 
Germ, historica, Hanov. 1826-1875, 21 T. fol. (T. I. II. V. TI-XIV. and XVI- 
XXIII. contain scriptores ; T. III. IT. and XV. leges.) Harzheinii S. J. Concilia, 
Germ, (until Hi') Colon. 17.59 sq. 11 T; fol. '^Jaffe, bibliotheca rerum German- 
icar. Berol. 1864 sq. 4 T. Conf. DaJilmann, Authentic Documents of German 
History, 2d ed. Gutting. 1839. ® Watteniach, Sources of the History of Germany 
in the. Middle Ages, 2d ed. Berlin, 1866. The Historians of German Antiquity 
in a German dress, by Pertz, Grimm, and others, Berlin, 1847 sq. Du Chesne, 
hist. Francor. scriptor. Par. 163C sq. 5 T.fol. ^-Bouipiet-Dom Brial, rer. Gallicar. 
& Franc, scriptor. Par. 1738-1833, 19 T. fol. Muraior!, rer. ItaL scriptor. Me- 
diol. 1723 sq. 27 T. fol. Commenced, Monimienta Britan. Conf. Rosier, de 
annalium medii aevi condit. and de arte critica in ann. Tubg. 1788 sq. 4to. 

Grego-r. Turonens, h. e. Francorum epitomized, and continued by Fredegar until 
641, ed. Ruinari, Paris, 1699 fol. {Bouquet, T. II. p. 75), in German, "Wiirzbg. 
1848 sq. Beda Venerab. h. e gentis Anglorum. Jomandes, de rebus Geticis, 
until 540, ed. Fabricius, Hambg. 1706, fol., ed. Class, Stuttg. 1861. {Muraiori, T. 
I. p. 187.) Isidor. Hlspal. hist. Gothor., Vandalor., Suevor., until 625, ed. Rosier, 
Tub. 1803, 4to. Isidor. Paccns. (about 754) ehron. {du Chesne, T. I.) Fauhis 
Wamefridus, diaconus, de gestis Longobard. libb. VI., fr. 568-744. {Muratori, 
T. I., P. I. p. 395 sq.) Annates rer. Francicar: Launssenses 741-829, revised and 
(12j 



§ 146. Religion of the Germans. 13 

continued from 788 in Annales Einhardt 741-829. Annales Fuldenses, 714-901. 
BerUniani, 741-882. {Pertz, T. I. p. 124 sq.) 

Also, the Churcli Histories of particular countries: Italia sacra, Gallia Chris- 
tiana, Germania sacra, Espafia sagrada, etc. t Papeiicordi, Hist, of the City of 
Eome in the Middle Ages, ed. by Hoflar, Paderb. 1857. Gregoromus, Hist, of 
the City of Eome in the Middle Ages, Stuttg. 1859 sq. 7 vols, until 1500; of 
Vol. I. 2d ed. 1870. »v. Remnant, Hist, of the City of Eome, Berl. 1867, -3 vols. 

Baronii annal. Natal. Alex. h. e. saec. VI. sq. Fleury (see our Vol. I., p. 46) 
Stolberg-Eerz, Pts. 16-25. Bintenm, Philosophical Hist, of the German Na- 
tional and Provincial Councils, from the Fourth Century to the Council of 
Trent. See, for this Period, Vols. I. and II. 

Profane Historians: ''i Bamberger, Synchronistic Hist, of Church and State in 
the Middle Ages, Eatishon, 1850 sq., in 15 vols., until 1378. ^ Cantu, Universal 
History of the World, Vol. V. t'''P/Mlips, German History, with particular 
attention to Eeligion, Civil Laws, and Political Constitution, 2 vols. Berlin, 
1832-1836. tFehr, Hand-book of Christian Universal History, Vol. I., Pt. I. p. 
312 sq., and Pt. II. t Weiss, Text-book of the History of the World, Vol. II. 
-Leo, Lectures on German History, Halle, 1854 sq. Vol. I. '\ Sehlegel, Philoso- 
phy of Hist. Vol. II. Schlosser-Kriegk, Hist, of the World, Vols. 4-5. See 
especially Heeren and TJkeH, Hist, of the European States, Hambg. 1820 sq. 
Wachsmuth, Hist, of European Morals, Lps. 1831-1839, 5 vols. Cont'^ Potthast, 
bibliotheca historica medii aevi: Guide through the historical works of Euro- 
pean Middle Ages, Berlin, 1862. The Supplement thereto, same place, 1868, gives 
a most elaborate history of the literature of that period. 

§ 146. Religion of the Germans. [Conf. § 12.) 

I. Eerodotl histor. lib. IV. c. 93 and 94; lib. V. c. 8. Tacit, de situ, morib. et 
popul. Germaniae, and annal. XIII. 57; historiar. IV. 64. Jornandes, de reb. 
Getiois. Abrenuntiatio diaboli and indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum 
cum commentar. [Eluirt, comment, de rebus Francor. orient. Wirceb. 1729, T. 
I. p. 405 sqq. epp. Bonifacii ed. Wurdtivein, p. 126 sq. ; ed. Giles.) 

II. Dollinger, The Jew and the Gentile, p. 49 sq. Krafft, Ch. H. of the Ger- 
manic Nations, Brl. 1854, Vol. I. p. 128 sq. ^Phillips, German History, Vol. X. 
Jacob Grimm, German Mythology, Getting. (1835) 3d ed. 1854. Simrock, Man- 
ual of German Mythology, including also Northern, 2d ed. Stnttg. 1859. Reit- 
berg, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. I. p. 246 sq. 

We have already remarked^ in the first period of this his- 
tory, that, when the .Barbarians made incursions into the "Ro- 
man Empire, and particularly while the Arian controversies 
were going forward, many tribes of Germanic origin were 
converted to Christianity. But as the propagation and growth 
of Christianity among them presented features peculiar to 
the people, and wholly difierent from those which accompa- 



' See Vol. I. 2 107. 



14 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 



nied the conversion of the Greeks and Eomans, and as they 
took no part in the doctrinal controversies which agitated the 
rest of the Christian world, it was thought that their history 
might be rendered more clear and intelligible by treating it 
separately. 

The earliest information we possess of the Germans^ is de- 
rived from the pages of Tacitus, who treats of them from the 
time they first came into contact with the Romans. 

There is among them a time-honored tradition, according to 
which they revere, as the father of their race, Thuisto {Duisco, 
Deutscher), who is represented as having sprung from the 
earth, and perpetuated his offspring through his son, Jfannus. 
That they were of Asiatic origin, there can be no doubt. 
Tneir very name, Heche, signifying a foreigner or an exile, 
points unmistakably to their migratory character. The date 
of this migration can not be positively fixed, but it is more 
than likely that it was coeval with the great confederation of 
the Assyrian tribes, and that the forward movement of the 
Si::ythians was the immediate occasion of it. 

Tacitus represents the Germans to us as a people living in 
the state of nature, and in the traditions and poetry of the 
past, distinguished by their love of war and their intrepidity 
in presence of danger; by their strong sense of justice and 
the fidelity of their attachments; and by their disregard of ■ 
death and their high appreciation of woman,^ whom they re- 
garded as in every respect the equal of man. 

Their social relations were, as a rule, confined within the 
limits of those tribes bearing the same names. ^Vhen ar- 
rayed in order of battle, each family had its appointed place; 
and so great was their love of freedom and independence, 
that, unless compelled by the most imperative necessity, they 
would not submit to a superior or obey a chief; and, should 
they be so unfortunate as to receive punishment at the hands 
of the latter, they would consider such disgrace as the deepest 
depth of infamy to which it was possible to fall. He alone 
deserved the name of freeman^ who had the courage and 

1 The name is derived from Gehr, or Wehr-ilanncn, Wehr-marmer^ War-men. 

2 Divinum aliquid et providum feminis inesse putant. Tacit, c. 8, Genu. 
* Wer, waro, baro, Spanisli varon. 



§ 146. Religion of the Germans . 15 

ability to defend his life by personal prowess ; and to be dis- 
armed in the conflict and deprived of liberty, was an irrepara- 
ble misfortune. 

There existed, however, between the bondman and the free, 
different degrees of dependence, which varied according to 
circumstances. The German was not even separa'ted in death 
from the war-horse and the arms with which he had gained 
his conquests and defended his personal liberty. 

The Religion of the ancient Germans, like that of all prim- 
itive nations, though less poetic and not so elaborately artistic 
as the paganism of the Greeks and Eomans, consisted in a 
simple worship of nature, bearing in many respects a close re- 
semblance to that of the Persians — a people with whom the 
Germans were very nearly allied in language and physical 
constitution.' Their conception of the Deity was beautiful 
and exalted. " They conceive," says Tacitus, " that to confine 
gods within walls, or to represent them in human similitude, 
is unworthy the grandeur of celestial beings. They conse- 
crate woods and groves to them, and designate by titles of 
divinity that secret Power which they apprehend only by the 
instinct of reverence."^ 

The simplicity of their worship was not accompanied by 
the sacrificial pomp common to the Gauls.^ Still, it would be 
incorrect to apply to all the Germans, indiscriminately, the 
accounts given by Caesar and Tacitus. The latter speaks of 
one of their temples of Tanfana, in the land of the Marsi,''and 
the reports of Christian missionaries, who visited these na- 
tions at a later day, make mention of quite a number. Both 
Caesar and Tacitus inform us that the Germans worshiped a 
divine Trinity, known, according to the former of these writ- 
ers, as the Sun,Vulcan, and the Moon; and, according to the 
latter, as Mercury, Hercules, and Mars. 



' See Vol. I. ? 25. 

2 Tacit Germ., c. 9. Cf. Agaih., Hist. I. 7. 

'Germani multum ab hac (Gallor.) consuetudine differvmt; nam neque Drui- 
das habent qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student. Caesar, de beUo 
Gallioo, VI. 21. 

* Tacit. Ann. I. 51. Cf. Grimm, loco cit., p. 55. Rettherg, Cb. H. of Germ., 
Vol. II., p. 576. 



16 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 

Christian missionaries also inform ns that the Germans 
Xjaid special homage to three principal deities, and St. Colum- 
hanus discovered three idols on the shores of the Lake of Con- 
stance. The number three again recurs in their formula of 
abjuration of the eighth century. 

Woutan (Wodan, hence Wodan's day, or "Wednesday) was 
the chief divinity among the Germans. From his throne, 
high up in the heavens, he gazes through a window out upon 
the earth, and considers the various occupations of men ; or 
he leads the throng in the wild career of a savage hunt 
through the air, ranges the hosts in order of battle, and looks 
after the other avocations of man. 

Beside him is HvJ.da, the fearless huntress, who by turns 
follows the peaceful avocation of a shepherdess, attends "Wou- 
tan on his aerial voyages through the clouds, admonishes 
women of their domestic duties, or threatens those who yield 
to the solicitations of slothful slumbers. 

Xext to Hulda come the sons of Woutan. These are Donar 
(Thor, Thunaer, whence Donnerstag, or Thursday), who hurls 
the thunderbolt down upon the earth and flashes the fury of 
the lightning from out the depths of the clouds ; and the one- 
handed Ziu (Tyr, Jr, Erich), the god of war (whence EricKs- 
Zinstag , Dienstag , Tuesday; French, Mardi ; Ital., Martedi). 

Besides these gods of terror, were ranged a race of more 
beneficent divinities, whose office was to look after the fertil- 
ity of the fields. First came Tngo, next Nerthus (Mother- 
earth), accompanied by her offspring, Frouwo (Freya), the 
amiable companion of Woutan (whence Freitag, Friday; 
French, Vendredi ; Ital., "^'enerdi) ; and the goddess Ostare 
(Eostra), through whose genial influence the glory of spring 
rises from the death of winter. 

If the Germans were proud and arrogant, and refused to 
submit to any human authority, they were equally humble 
and submissive in matters of religion, and ready to yield full 
obedience to the ordinances of the Deity, as revealed through 
the oracles of their priests.' 



1 Tacit. Germ., c. 7. Neque animadvertere neque vincire, ne verberare qui- 
dem nisi sacerdotiirus pennissum. 



§ 147. Religious Belief of the Germans in Scandinavia. 17 

They selected as places of sacrifice the tops of mountains, 
the margin of a clear spring, the surface of a rock, but chiefly 
the gloomy and mysterious shades of a forest of oaks. They 
also offered human sacrifices by the Lake oi Hertha, on the 
island of Eiigen. A young man and maiden were cast to- 
gether into this lake, and perished in its waters. 

Doubtful questions of right were submitted to the decision 
of the gods, whose judgment was made known by issue of 
duels. Runic wands, and other species of ordeal. To test 
whether a child were legitimate or no, it was placed upon a 
shield and immersed in the water ; if it reappeared on the 
surface, the judgment was deemed favorable. 

When, finally, one of their number took leave of the joys and 
sorrows of this life, the Germans paid the last tribute of respect 
to his remains with simple and impressive ceremonies, unac- 
companied by either extravagant tumult or pompous parade. 
The Southern Germans burned, the JSTorthern Germans buried, 
their dead ; and a modest hillock, covered with green sward, 
was the only rhonument that marked their last resting-place.-' 

§ 147. Religious Belief of the Germans in Scandinavia. 

I. The Edda (the story-telling great grandmother), the more ancient, poetical 
one, by Saemund Sigfusson (tll33), Edda rhythmica sen antiquior Saemundina 
dicta ed. Thorlaciiis, Finn Magnusen, etc., Hamb. 1787-1828, 3 T. 4to. Editio 
rec. Rashii cur. Afzelius. Holm. 1818. Translation of many songs, by Hagen, 
Breslau, 1814. GrimjM, Berlin, 1815. ie^is, Lps. 1829 sq., 3 vols. The prosa-i'c 
Edda, commenced by the celebrated statesman and historian of Iceland, Snorre 
Sturleson (t 1241), finished in the fourteenth century. Snorna-Edda asamt Skaldu 
af Eask Stockholm, 1818; transl. by Fr. Fii/is, Berlin, 1812. The earlier and 
the later Edda, together with the mythological tales of the Skalda, translated 
and illustrated by Simroclc, Stuttgardt, 1855. Extracts and comments by Krajft, 
Vol. I., p. 118-212. The poem, Muspilli, ed. by Schmeller [Buchnei-'s Contribu- 
tions, Munich, 1832, Vol. I., nro. 2), Saxo Grammaiicus and Adam Bremensis. 

II. Stulir, Faith, Science, Philosophy, and Poetry of the Ancient Scandina- 
vians, Copenhagen, 1825. Legis, Alkuna Mythology of the North, Lps. 1831. 
Hochmeister, Mythology of the North, Hanover, 1832. Petersen and Thomsen, 
Guide to the Knowledge of Northern Antiquities, translated by Paulsen, Copen- 
hagen, 1837. Miinter, Ch. H. of Denmark and Norway, Lps. 1823, p. 1-104. 



' Eunerum nulla ambitio, . . . monumentorum arduum et operosum hon- 
otem, ut gravem defunctis, adspernantur. Tacit. Germ., c. 27. These words 
are remarkable when compared with what Tacitus says of their architecture. 
VOL. II — 2 



18 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. 

The mythology of these Xorthern Germans contains all the 
essential elements of religious belief common to every German 
nation, but among them religion wears a more gloomy aspect, 
and its similarity to the worship of nature araong the ondent 
Persians is still more marked and striking. Odin, the supreme 
god, creates the world from the body of the giant Ymer, 
whom he has put to death; and the latter circumstance be- 
comes the prolific source of interminable wars between the 
creating gods and the race of giants. Thor is the god of 
thunder and of war; Freyr is the generating power, and 
Frcya the prolific mother, of nature. These three presided 
over the destinies of men ; Odin gives victory, glory, and the 
gift of song, and Freya brings the joys of requited and the 
bitterness of disappointed love. The false and the cowardly 
expiate their deeds of baseness in Niflheim, and those who 
come to an inglorious end wander foi-lorn in the shades of 
the kingdom of Hela; but such as are chosen from among 
their fellows by favor of the Valkyres, and such as fall glo- 
riously on the field of battle, ascend to Walhalla, there to 
continue, until the end of the world, their life of heroism in 
the company of the gods. 

Their sacrificial worship was but a feast of pleasure, during 
which the banqueters drank their beverages fi-om horns. In 
seasons of exceptional trouble and threatening danger, they 
ofiered human sacrifices. 

Xotwithstanding that gods and men are on easy and famil- 
iar terms, a note of deep and plaintive grief runs through the 
Edda fi'om first to last. Both men and gods feel the pangs 
of sorrow and taste the bitterness of death. Even Baldar, 
the son of Odin, has a presentiment, and the words of an 
oracle confirm its truth, that the ancient powers of darkness 
will be one day let loose, come up out of their abyss, and de- 
stroy mankind. Although restrained for a season by the 
prowess of the Ases, the most distinguished of the heroes of 
ancient time, they will in the end break their fetters, and, 
after a brief and terrible confiiet, drag down into the deep 
abyss both the Ases and the heroes of Walhalla. While the 
conflict is still in progress, the world, according to the same 



J 147. Religious Belief of the Germans in Scandinavia. ID 

oracle, shall go to pieces, and be consumed by lire [Muspilli — 
End of the world). 

A new earth arises out of this ruin, on which a male and 
female, still in the state of innocence, are placed. Here 
also dwell some of the sous of the fallen gods, together with 
lialdar, who has made his escape from the lower regions. 

But, in the midst of grotesque fancies like these, the belief 
in an unkown and higher Power comes jsrominently forward, 
to whose general purpose the issue of all these trifling con- 
flicts is subservient; who is the energizing principle of the 
forces of nature,, and who restored the world to its present 
definite and permanent form (Alfadur). 

From this outline of the religious belief of the ancient Germans, we are 
enabled, besides giving an insight into their character, to understand in how 
far their doctrines contributed to open their minds to the truths of Christianity, 
and to account for — 

1. The purity and delicacy of faith which they exhibited after having once 
embraced the Gospel. 2. The deep feeling of reverence with which they 
received the first Christian missionaries, who, in the early days of the mission, 
were almost, without exception, foreigners. 3. The many and various forms of 
trial by ordeal, such as those by fire and water, and the appeal to the judgment 
of God. 4. And, finally, the genius which inspired their architecture and 
religious paintings. For what are the great and lofty domes of their churches; 
the countless delicate columns, spreading, as they rise, into branching boughs, 
and forming sweeping vaults overhead; the finely tapered spires, piercing the 
very clouds, adorned with sculptured flowers and foliage cut in stone, and with 
fantastic statuettes of matchless beauty, but symbols, borrowed from the wild 
o,ik .forests of ancient Germany, to which a spiritual and a Christian significa- 
tion has been given, and which have been forever consecrated to the worship 
of the true God? 

And is not the mysterious and awe-inspiring light of those temples, softened 
and toned till it wears the guise of another world; and the cunningly wrought 
!.nd elaborate branch-work, with stem and leaf and flower, through which the 
bright sunbeams enter with magic efifect and indescribable charm, but a feeble 
attempt to transfer to the purposes of religion something of the majesty and 
beauty of those grand primeval religious sanctuaries of the Germans.' 



' See art. Romans and Germans, in the Sist. PoUt. Papers^ Vol. XII., p 
473 sq. 



CHAPTER I. 

PKOPAGATIOX OF CHEISTIANITT. 

Gratiamis, Hist, of the Propagation of Christianity in the States of Europe 
arisen from the ruins of the Koman Empire, Tubg. 1778, 2 toIs. tSiemerj Intro- 
duction of Christianity in German countries, Sehaffh. 1857 sq. Dollinger, Man- 
ual of Ch. H., Vol. I., Pt. II., p. 138-241. Engl. Transl. of Germanic Xations. 
Eettberg, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. I. Krafft, Ch. H., \ol. I., Pt. I., p. Zll sq. 
VFriedrich, Ch. H. of Germany, Bamherg, 1867 sq., 2 vols. RucJ:ert, Hi=t. of 
the Civilization of the German People during the period of their transition 
from Paganism to Christianity, 2 vols., Lps. 185-3. ^'Felir, Introd. to the Hist, 
of Church and State in the Middle Ages, Stuttg. 18-59. The same, State and 
Church in the Erankish Empire, Vienna, 1869. E. v. WietersJ<e!m, Hist, of the 
Migration of Xations, 4 vols., Lps. 1869. -Gfrorer, Contrib. toward a Hist, of 
German Popular Eights in the Middle Ages, 2 vols., Schaif h. 186-5-66. Pall- 
manTi, Hist, of the Migr. of Xations, 2 vols^ TVeimar, 1862-1864. Tb. — ^For a 
lucid survey of the Migr. of ^Tations, see the Hist. Atlas by Spruner and by 
® WedeU, which is EtUl better than the former. 

§ 148. Among the Goths. 

Conf. the art. " Goths " in the Frelhurg Eccl. Cyclop, and the works of WaUz 
on the Life and Doctrine of Uliila, Hanover, 1840, and Bessd, The Life of TJlfila 
and the Conversion of the Goths, Gotting. 1860. 

The comiug of our Divine Lord, which, effected so great a 
revolution in the spiritual world, exercised an influence no 
less potent and radical in the political. During the course 
of the fourth and fifth centuries, the nations of the Xorth 
and East commenced to move forward toward the South and 
"West, without, as we should judge, either guidance or pur- 
pose, but really in obedience to a call from God^ and for the 
accomplishment of a holy destiny. They were carried for- 
ward toward the land in which the Light of the world had 
dawned, and where its effulgence was steadily growing in 
splendor, till their vast multitudes fairly thronged those coun- 
tries in which, according to divine appointment, the Church 



• John vi. 44. 
(20) 



§ 148. Among the Goths. 21 

of Christ had ah'eady been established. That so momentous 
a significance should attach to the migration of nations was 
early asserted by the unknown author of a work directed 
agaiust Pelagius, and entitled De Vocatione Gentium} ISTeither 
was the Church unprepared or unwilling to give a warm wel- 
come to these rude warriors. On the contrary, she was pa- 
tiently waiting the time when it should graciously please 
God to call both kings and people within the subduing influ- 
ence of His holy faith. 

In the second century of the Christian era, the Goths, issu- 
ing from the wilds of Scandinavia, sought a home on the 
. shores of the Black Sea. Of these, the Ostrogoths settled 
between the Don and the Dniester, and the Visigoths between 
the Dniester and the Theiss. From the third century onward, 
they waged bloody and relentless wars against the Roman 
emperors, and not unfrequentljr made incursions into the 
provinces, and particularly into those of Greece and Asia 
Minor, carrying desolation wherever they went. 

Having been expelled from Thrace by the victorious Con- 
etantine, numbers of them entered the imperial army, and it 
is chiefly to the valor of their arms that the victory gained 
over Licinius at Byzantium, a. d. 323, which decided the fate 
of the loorld, should be ascribed. 

It was from the soldiers of the Roman legions, taken pris- 
oners during these conflicts, that the Goths gained their first 
knowledge of the Christian religion.^ They were represented 
at the Council of Nice, a. d. 325, by Bishop Theophilus,^ and 
about the year 347, Cy7~il of Jerusalem,'' speaking of them, 
said: "Bishops and priests, and even monks and nuns, may 
be found among the Goths." 

They preserved the Catholic faith pure and intact until the 
reign of Valens, from whom the Visigoths, divided into two 
bodies under the respective leaders Fridiger and Athanctric, 
and driven forward by the advance of the Huns (a. d. 326), 

' Rosier, Dissert, de magna gentium migratione ejusque primo impulsu. Tub. 
1795, 8vo. 

^Sozom. h. e. II. 6. Philostorff. h. e. II. 5. 

S/Socrat h. e. II. 41. 

*CyriU. Catech. 10, 19; 13, 40. 



22 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chrrpter 1. 

sought an asylum. The emperor grantefl them permission to 
take up their abode on the southern bank of the Danube, but 
only on condition that they should embrace Christianity, 
which, under the circumstances, meant simply the Arian heresy. 

Tliis conversion was mainly eifected by the labors of Ulfila,' 
their great apostle and bishop. 

He was the descendant of a noble Gothic house, and was 
sent as a hostage to Constantinople, shortly after the Council 
of Xice, A. D. 325, and while in the capital embraced Chris- 
tianity. He accepted it, with simple and earnest faith, just 
as he found it, pjutting aside all the idle and speculative ques- 
tions that distracted the religious mind of that age. Having 
returned among his countrymen, he for a time held the office 
of lector ; but, having shortly afterward invented Gothic 
characters, he set to work on a Gotlac translatiori. of the Bible^ 
most of which has been preserved to us, bearing ample testi- 
mony to the ability with which the work was done. 

'\^hen Theodosius commanded all the subjects of the Eoman 
Empire to accept the Xicene Creed, the Goths, animated by a 
spirit of bitter hostility to the Romans, refused to give up the 
teachings of Arianism. 

From the Visigoths the Arian heresy spread rapidly among 
Ostrogoths and the Vandols, the Burgundians and the Suevi, 
all of whom obliged the Catholics among whom they chanced 
to settle, to embrace its teachings.* 

On the death of Talens, Gratian compelled the Goths to 
submit to his authority (a. d. 370— 380), and St. John Chrysostom, 
Patriarch of Constantinople, taking advantage of this favora- 

' "Wulfila, TVolflein or Little-wolf. 

«Socr(rf.h.c.III.33. .Sozor/i. TI. 37. Theodkrref.TV.9,Z. ITlfila's translation 
of the Bible, ed. by Zahn, Weissenfels, 180-5: tben, TTltila's O. and X. Testam. 
fragm., etc., edd. de Gaheleniz et Loehe, A'ol. I. Altenburg. 1S36. VcL II. If-5. 
1812-1 S47 \witb a full Glossarium and Grammar of the Gothic lang:uage;; 
thereto a Supplement, by Loehe. MaxsrrMmi, The Holy Scriptures of the O. 
and X. T. in the Gctbic language, with Greek and Latin text, annotations. Dic- 
tionary, and Hist. Ir^rod. .Stuttg. ISOo. It is rather affirmed than denied that 
this transUillon of ilie Bl'An is free from Arian views : but; on the other hand, 
Arianism is most certainly found inUlfilas i>roje.-iUjn of faith, with the rimark- 
able addition: Egj I'lphila episcopus et confessor semper sic credidi. Conf 
Krafft, L c. p. 327—361. Waiiz, in L c. Bessd, in 1. c. 

3 Conf: Walch, Hist, of Heretics, Part II., p. .j.::J-5G9. 



§ 148. Among the Goths. 23 

ble turn in afl'airs, set to work with characteristic zeal and 
energy to spread the knowledge of Christianity more gen- 
erally among them. lie provided Gothic missionaries in the 
very city of Constantinople, and set apart a church in which 
divine worship was conducted in the, Gothic language. The 
dedication of this church was the occasion of one of those 
eloquent discourses, so peculiar to the great orator, in which 
the miraculous conversion of these barbarous nations was ad- 
duced as a proof of the civilizing influence of the Gospel,' 
and as a verification of the prophecy of Isaias :^ " The wolf 
and the lamb shall feed together." St. Athanasius, marveling 
at their conversion, cries out, in a spirit of triumphant joy: 
" Who has reconciled those who were formerly at deadly en- 
mity with each other, and united them in the bonds of endur- 
ing peace, if it be not Jesus Christ, the Savior of all men, the 
Well-Beloved of God the Father, who, for our sakes and for 
our salvation, has deigned to suffer for all ? The projjhecy of 
Isaias, ' They shall turn their swords into ploughshares and 
their spears into sickles,' has been fulfilled, and, wonderful to 
relate, these people, by nature barbarians, who while they re- 
mained idolaters were ceaselessly engaged in deadly conflict 
against each other, never patting aside their arms, have since 
theirconversion to Christianity given up theirhabits of war and 
devoted themselves to the peaceful cultivation of the fields." 

St.Jei'omewaa still more surprised when, in his distant cave 
at Bethlehem, he received a letter from two Goths, by name 
Sunnia and FreteUa,^ begging him to state his opinion as to 
the merits of the Latin and Graeco-Alexandrian translations 
of the Bible, both of which varied somewhat from the origi- 
nal Hebrew. 

"Who," says he, "would believe that the barbarous Goths 
study the oracles of the Holy Ghost in the text of the origi- 
nal Hebrew, while the listless Greeks appear to take no in- 
tei'est in such studies." Both of these fathers also testify 



1 Homil. III. opp. Chnjsost., T. XII., ed. Moiitfaucon. 

^Isaias, Ixv. 25; cf. xi. 6. 

^ Hieronym. ep. 106. Quis hoc crederet, ut barbara Getarum lingua Hebrai- 
cam quaereret veritatem, et dormitantibus, immo contemnentibus (rraecis ipsa 
Germania Spiritus Sti eloquia sorutaretur? (opp. C I., p. 641.) 



24 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

that of the Goths under Athanaric, some bore witness to their 
faith, and proved the sincerity of their love of the Church, 
by suffering martyrdom rather than give up the doctrines 
which she had taught them. 

§ 149. Christianity among the Visigoths. Their Kingdoms in 
Gaul and Spain. 

Jornandes, de rebus Geticis seu de Getarmn (Gothorum) origine, e. 1-3, ed. 
Stahlberg, Hagen, 1859; ed. Class, Stuttg. 1861. Idoti, chronicon in FUyrez, 
Espafia sagrada, T. IV., p. 289-501 ; Isvlor. Hlrpal. chronica regum Tisigoth- 
orum. (opp. ed. Arevelo, T. YII., p. 185.) '\ Asclibach, History of the Visigoths, 
Prankft. 1827, 2 vols. Helfferich, The Arianism of the Visigoths, Berlin, 1860. 
'\Oams, Ch. H. of Spain, Vol. II., p. 395 sq. 

In the year 410, Rome was taken by the Visigoth Ariana 
under J.?anc, and if the disgraceful circumstances which pre- 
ceded and led to its capture, have no parallel in the fall of 
any other city, neither have the moderation and generosity 
with which the conquerors treated the vanquished inhabit- 
ants of the once proud mistress of the world. 

That the mildness and clemency exhibited by the Barba- 
rians on this occasion are evidence of that humane feeling so 
characteristic of the Germans, there can be no doubt, but it 
is equally undeniable that these are in part to be ascribed to 
the civilizing influences of Christianity. Did not -^Eneas see, 
asks St. Augustine : 

" Dying Priam at the shrine, 
Staining the hearth he made divine?" 

"But what was novel" (in the sack of Eome), continues 
the Bishop of Hippo, " was, that savage Barbarians should 
show themselves in so gentle a guise, that the largest churches 
were chosen and set apart to be filled with those to whom 
quarter was given ; that in them none were slain and none 
forcibly dragged out ; that into them many were led by their 
relenting enemies to be set at liberty, and that from them 
none were led into slavery by merciless foes. Whoever fails 
to see," he adds, " that this is to be attributed to the name 
of Christ, and to the Christian temper, is blind ; whoever sees 
this, and gives not thanks to God, is ungrateful ; and who- 



§ 149. Christianity among the Visigoths. 25 

ever hinders any one from praising it, is mad. JSTo prudent 
maa will ascribe such clemency to Barbarians.'" 

Alaric quitted Eome, and it is somewhat difficult to satis- 
factorily account for his hasty departure. 

The Goths, unable longer to maintain themselves in Italy, 
set out for Gaul, in the year 412, under the leadership of 
Ataulf, where they founded a kingdom between the Loire and 
Garonne, of which Wallia became the King, and Toulouse the 
capital, and which, after a few years, extended over the greater 
part of Spain.^ This was the first kingdom established in 
Europe by the Germans, and was, even after it had assumed 
a distinctively Christian character, conspicuous for deeds of 
barbaric violence, which were usually followed by the more 
terrible scourges of pestilence and famine. 

Of the Vandals, Alani, and Suevi, the first conquerors of 
Spain, only these last were Catholics, and even they adopted 
the Ai'ian heresy in the year 464, after King liemismond had 
married the daughter of the Visigoth Theodoric. They then 
began their work of pillage by sacking cities, pulling down 
churches, and putting to death Catholic bishop)S and priests, 
many of whom, such as Pancyxdian of Braga, Patanius, and 
others, sufl'ered martyrdom for their faith, and in their singu- 
lar fortitude and courageous death, left a rich heritage of 
glory to the Spanish Church. 

The condition of the Church under the Visigoth King 
Eurich (t A. D. 476), was, if possible, still more deplorable. 

Sidonius ApoUinaris, Bishop of Clermont, states that, "Eu- 
rich sent great numbers of Catholic bishops into exile, and 
prohibited the election of others to take their places. Thus, 
he goes on to say, the churches of both Gaul and Spain, 
having been deprived of their pastors, rapidly went to ruin, 
grass grew about the sanctuaries and on the very altars, and 
beasts of prey took up their abode among the rubbish of 
those desecrated tem-ples.^ 



> Auff. De Civit. Dei I. 1-7. Gregoromus, Hist, of the City of Eome in the 
Middle Ages, Vol. I., p. 147-168. Reumont, Hist, of the City of Eome, Vol. I., 
p. 734 et sq. 

* Rosenstein, Hist, of the Kingdom of the Visigoths in Gaul, 1859. 

^Sidon. lib. VII. ep. 6. ad Bas. Strmondi, opp. T. I. max. bibl. PP. T. VI. 



26 Period 2. Epoch 1 Part. 1. Chapter 1. 

Alaric, the son of Enrich (a. d. 506), though himself an 
Arian, adopted toward the Catholics a more lenient policy 
than that which his father had pursned; but under Leovigild 
the horrors of persecution were agaih revived, and so violent 
was the temper of this prince, that he put to death his own 
son, Hermenegild, on Easter Sunday, a. d. 585, at Tarragona, 
for embracing and refusing to give up the Catholic faith. 

His son and successor, Reccared (a. d. 586-601), who had 
more sympathy with the doctrines for which his brother had 
shed his blood than with the unnatural spirit of the father,, 
who had outraged every parental instinct, always regarded 
the Catholic Church with no small degree of favor, and in 
the year 587 made a full and open profession of her teachings, 
in a council composed of both Catholic and Arian bishops. 
The Council of Toledo, held a. d. 589, struck the final blow 
against the Arianism of the Goths, upon which it passed 
thirty-nine anathemas. The Church now sprung into new 
life, and flourished with great splendor, under the distin- 
guished Hispano-Gothic bishops, Helladius of Toledo, Isidore 
of Seville (fA. d. 636), lldephonse the Younger, Archbishop of 
Toledo, and others. The seoenteen Synods of Toledo, held be- 
tween A. D. 400 and 694, are ample evidence of the growth 
and prosperity of the Church, of the revival of religious life, 
and of the political progress of the nation. 

§ 150. The Vandals in Africa. 

Victor episcopus Viteusis, who was an eye-witness of what he relates (487), 
wrote libb. V. historiae persecutionis Africanae sub Genserico et Hunnerico 
Vandalor. regib. ed. Chtfflettus, S. J., Divione, 1664, 4to. (Hist, persecutionis 
Vandal, ed. Rulnart, Paris, 1694, 8vo.; Venet. 1732, 4to., max. bibl. PP. T. VIII. 
p. 675 sq.) St. FulgentU episc. Euspensis vita (by Ferrandus, his scholar?) max. 
bibl. PP. T. IS. Procophis Caesareensis (first, teacher of rhetoric, then legal 
counselor of Belisar, may be styled the Byzantine Herodotus), historiarum libb. 
VIII. (Persian, Vandalic, and Gothic Memorabilia) ed. gr. and lat. ex. ed. Clavdii 
Maltrett, Paris, 1662, sq. fol., Venet. 1729 (corpus scriptor. Byzant.) In German, 
by Kannegiesser, Greifswalde, 1827, sq. 4 vols.; Vol. II. on the Vandals. Conf. 
Da/i7- on Procopius of Caesarea, Berlin, 1865; the same, Kings of the (ancient) 
Germans, Munich, 1860. Isidor. Hispal., historia Vandalorum et Suevorum. 



Oailand. bibl. T. X. Migne, ser. lat. T. 58. Gregor. Turon. hist. Prancor. II. 
25. Kaufmann, The "Works of 0. ApoU. Sidou., Gotting. 1864 ; Chaix, St. Sidoin, 
Apollinaire et son sieele, Paris, 1867. 



§ 150. The Vandals in Africa. 27 

'\MorceUi, Africa christ. Brixiae, 1810, 8 T. 4to. '\ Papeneordt, Hist, of Vandalio 
rule in Africa, Berlin, 18S8. Katerkamp, Vol. III., p. 333 sq. Neander, Mem- 
orabilia, Vol. III., Pt. I. 

We have no knowledge of the circumstances or motives 
that induced the Viindals to embrace the Arian heresy, but 
we do know that, having set out from their okl home inPan- 
nonia in company with the Suevi and Alani, they emigrated 
to Spain, where they wrouglit such devastation tiiat they are 
justly entitled to the distiuction of being called the most 
cruel of all the Germanic tribes (a. d. 409). 

When Boniface, the Eoman governor of Africa, who had 
been for some time conscious that he held his office by a very 
insecure tenure, learned at length that he had been accused, 
and, througli tlie po\verful influence of liis personal enemies 
at the Court of Ravenna, found guilty of high treason and 
deposed, his indignation knew no bounds. Yielding to the 
impulses of revenge, he raised the standard of rebellion, and, 
disregarding the advice and praj-ers of St. Augustine, called 
to his assistance the neighboring Vandals from Spain. The 
Yaiidals, who had found it difficult to maintain themselves 
in Spain, gladly accepted the invitation, and passed over to 
Africa, under their King, Geiseric (Genseric), to the number 
of fifty, or, as some say, eighty thousand. In doing so, how- 
ever, their intention was to conquer the fair provinces of this 
country for themselves, rather thun to aid in the work of 
establishing the independent authority of Count Boniface. 

Boniface soon discovered his error, but not till it was too 
late to provide a remedy, The richest provinces of Rome 
and the granary of Italy passed into the hands of the Barba- 
rians. Geiseric immediately set on foot a persecution of the 
Catholics, which lasted throughout the whole course of his 
long and infamous reign (a. d. 427-477),^ and surpassed in 
brutal cruelty and refined torture, if f>ossible, even that of 
Diocletian. Bishops and priests were expelled the country, 
and those who refused to go were sold into slavery. Many 
fled to Rome, but were not even here beyond the reach of the 
terrible Geiseric, who in the year 455 sat down with his sav- 

' Herm. Schtdze, De Testamento Genserici, 1859. 



28 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chajpter 1. 

age hordes^ before the walls of that city. So great were the 
evils that came upon the Christians, that some began to en- 
tertain doubts in regard to the truth of an overseeing Provi- 
dence in the affairs of men ; and Saloian, Bishop of Marseilles, 
feeling that there was a call upon him to correct this error, 
composed a work specially devoted to its refutation. This 
Christian Jeremias took the ground that these divine visita- 
tions were but the just chastisements of an avenging God 
upon a reprobate people, whose degeneracy and immorality 
were in striking contrast with the singular purity and vigor 
of the Germanic nations. 

Under Huneric (a. d. 477-484), the son and successor of 
Geiseric, who had married Eudoxia, the widow of Valen- 
tinian III., the Catholics enjoyed a short interval of peace, 
for which, however, they were indebted to the humane offices 
of the emperor Zeno. Eugene, who was distinguished alike 
for his piety and firmness of character, became Bishop of 
Carthage, a. d. 479, after the see had remained vacant for the 
space of twenty -four years. But the Arian bishop, Cyrilla, who 
besides being unscrupulous, was skilled in the arts of intrigue, 
assailed Eugene with such bitterness, that the latter, together 
with five thousand Catholics, was obliged to put up with all 
manner of indignity, and to suffer the most inhuman cruelty. 

The Catholics of Sicca and Lara,, notwithstanding that they 
ivere shut up in a small room, and enduring a martyrdom of tor- 
iure in every member of their bodies, sang, loitkout ceasing, hymns 
in honor of Christ; while many of those who had, their tongues 
cut out at Tipasa still retained the poiccr of speech, and raised, 
their voices in joraise and thanksgiving to God? 

A conference held at Carthage, a. d. 484, composed of Cath- 

iSee Kraus, Ch. Hist, of the Middle Ages, p. 214. (Tk.) 

2 Even Mr. Gibbon, -who never looks beyond the natural, has been obliged to 
admit the truth of this wonderful fact, because of his inability to impeach the 
historical testimony on which it rests. Victor. Vitens. V. 6; Procopiun de Bello 
Vand. I. 8. (opp. ed. Bonn, I. 345); Evarjrius, IV. 14. The testimony of the 
Platonist, Aeneas Gaza, on the overthrow of the Tandalic domination, is given 
by Theophrastiis in Galland, T. X., p. 636. Emperor Justinian also states (in 
Cod. L. I. tit. 27. de officio praefecti praetorio Afric): "Vidimus veuerabiles 
viros, qui, abscissis radicitus Unguis, poenas suas mirabiliter loquebantur." TiU 
emont, T. XVI., and Schrockh, Oh. Hist., Pt. 18, p. 101 et sq. 



§ 150. The Vandals in Africa. 29 

olic and Arian bishops, in the hope of adjusting difficulties, 
served only to augment them, and to add to the already severe 
sufferings of the Catholics. 

Guntamund (a. d. 494), convinced that the most sanguinary 
and persistent persecution would be inadequate to the task 
of entirely eradicating the Church from the soil of Africa, 
permitted the exiled bishops to return one by one to their 
dioceses; but Thrasamund (a. d. 496-523), who was of quite 
another opinion, commenced anew the work, interrupted by 
the clemency and judgment of his predecessor, and forbade, 
but to uo purpose, the consecration of Catholic bishops. See- 
ing that their number, instead of falling off, was daily on 
j;he increase, he adopted a more summary method of ridding 
himself of their presence, and sent one hundred and twenty 
of them into exile in Sardinia. Among them was Fulgentiiif., 
Bishop of Ruspe, one of the most intrepid and learned de- 
fenders of the Catholic faith. 

The Church again enjoyed a short respite from the horrors 
of persecution, under Hilderie, a prince whose humanity cost 
him his life. He was assassinated by his cousin, Gilimer. 

The Catholics were saved from the consequences of a fresh 
persecution, which threatened to be as sanguinary as any that 
had preceded it, by the timely interference of the emperor, 
Justinian, who sent Belisarius into Africa to protect and de- 
fend them. 

This general had little difficulty in overthrowing the dom- 
ination of the Yandals in Africa; for these rude warriors, 
once they had come fully under the influence of the polished 
manners and luxurious life of the Carthaginians, became, 
from a valiant and comparatively gure people, the most effem- 
inate and corrupt of mankind. Thus Africa passed again 
under the authority of Eome (a. d. 533), and all hope of the 
Catholic Church being re-established in that country by means 
of Germanic influence was at an end. After the year 670, 
every trace of Christianity disappeared before the advancing 
power of Islamism, and an event so unique in the history of 
the Church can only be accounted for by ascribing it to the 
inscrutable designs of Divine Providence. 



30 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 



§ 151. The Burgundians and Their Relations to the Church. 

■(Plancher.) bistoire de Bourgogne, Dijon, 1739. Collatio episcopor. praesert. 
Aviti Visnn. coram rege Gundebaldo (d'Achdry, Spicileg. T. III. Mit/nc, ser. 
lat. T. 59.) Rettberg, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. I., p. 253 sq. GelpM, Ch. H. of 
Switzerland under Roman, Burgundian, and Alemannian rule, Berne, 1856. 
Derisdiweiler, Hist, of the Burgundians until their incorporation into the 
Frankish kingdom, Miinster, 1863. Binding, The Burgundo-Koman Kingdom 
lips. 1868. 

The Burgundians, who dwelt between the Oder and the 
"Vistula, issuing from their northern home, followed the route 
over which the Goths had passed, till thej'- came as far as the 
Danube, where they encountered the Gepidae and the Romans. 
Retreating before the superior strength of these two peoples, 
they settled on the banks of the upper Main and the ITeckar, 
and Avere here thrown into contact with the Alenianni (a. d. 
406), with whom they were continually at war. They were 
forced by the terror of Attila's arms to break up their settle- 
ment on the Rhine, and, retreating in a southwesterly direc- 
tion, they entered the country of the Jura, about a. d. 412, 
and founded a kingdom in Gaul, extending from the Alps to 
the Rhone and the Saone, of which Lyojis became the capital. 
It is thought, but the opinion rests on very questionable au- 
thority, that they became converts to the Catholic Church as 
early as the year 417. Be this as it may, it is certain that no 
great reliance could be placed on the sincerity of their con- 
version, otherwise it would be difficult to account for the 
readiness with which they embraced the Arian heresy, about 
the year 444, during the reign of G-undobald} 

This prince, unable to resist the cogency and strength of 
the arguments of Patiens, Bishop of Lyons, but particularly 
of those of Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, expressed a wish to 
enter the Catholic Church, but desired to have his conversion 
kept a secret, from fear of drawing on himself the enmity of 
his son Theodoric. His son Sigismund exhibited greater 
resolution and more character than his father, and, at the 
desire of the Franks, returned to the Catholic Church. After 



1 Oros. hist. adv. Pagan. VII. 82, 38. Socr. h. e. VII. 30, III. 30. Conf. Pagi 
crit. ad a. 413, «i. 13, and Prosper in Chron. ad a. 435. 



§ 152. Ravages of the Huns in Germany, Gaul, and Italy. 31 

the year 517, his example was followed by many of the Bur- 
gundians, among whom Arianism entirely disappeared, once 
they had passed nnder the dominion of the Franks, during 
the reign of Godomar (a. b. 534). 

§ 152. Ravages of the Huns in Germany, Gaul, and Italy. 

Thierry, King Attila and his Age, Lps. 1852. Neumann, The Nations of 
Southern Eussia and their Historical Development, 2d od., Lps. 1855. John von 
'Mailer, Journeys of the Popes. See also Vol. I., p. 676, note 4. 

The nations of which we have just spoken had suffered 
more from the attacks of the Huns than from those of any 
other people, and were at length obliged to retire before their 
advancing columns. The Huns were the rudest of all the 
Slavic nations of which we have any knowledge. Attila, 
their leader, whose name is indissolubly associated with de- 
vastation and ruin, marched through Germany and into Gaul 
at the head of a vast multitude, composed of nations which 
he had reduced to subjection and forced to follow his stan- 
dard, and with this incongruous army commenced an attack 
upon the united kingdom of the Visigoths and Franks (a. d. 
444). 

The Ehenish cities of Cologne, Mentz, Worms, Spire, Stras- 
bourg, and the neighboring cities of Treves, Metz, and others, 
were almost entirely destroyed, and their churches demolished. 
Checked by the doubtful results of the battle of Chdlons-sur- 
Marne (451), and awed by the commanding presence and reso- 
lute attitude of Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, Attila directed his 
course toward Italy, and by the might of his arms added to the 
disasters with which this unfortunate country was already so 
severely scourged (a. d. 452). He stormed and sacked Aqui- 
leia, burned and plundered many other cities, and was only 
stayed in his career of blood and fire, and prevented from 
carrying the terror of his arms to the walls of Rome, by the 
great St. Leo, who undertook an embassy to his camp. As 
the resolution of Lupus and Leo had proved more effectual 
in curbing the anger of this ferocious barbarian than either 
armed resistance or mercenary tribute, the fact gave rise to 
the saying that " only a wolf or a lion could withstand Attila." 



32 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 



Attila, it is said, returned to the Danube, aud died in the 
following year, a. d. 453. His numerous aud terrible army, 
destitute of the only man who possessed sufficient ability and 
resolution to make his authority respected among its anom- 
alous masses, broke through all the restraints of discipline 
and wandered over the face of the country, carrying destruc- 
tion wherever they went. It required a higher than a human 
power to protect Christendom against so terrible a scourge. 

And, indeed, it would seem that Divine grace, which flowed' 
in upon the Church in abundant streams during this age, was 
more than sufficient to overcome the power of sin and wick- 
edness which lay like a foul mist upon the face of the earth. 
It was then that God raised up in defense of his cause those 
great lights of the Church and pillars of truth, St. Leo the 
Great, St. Lupus of Troyes, St. Germanus of Auxerre,^ St. 
Severin,^ that mysterious person whose origin and early his- 

■ Conf. Stolberff-Kerz, Pt. XVII., p. 421 sq. 

^EugippU, Vita St. Severini (BoUand. Acta Sanotor. mens. Jan., Tom. I., p. 
483) ed. Kerschbaumer, Soaphus. 1862; in Fnedrich's Ch. Hist, of Germany, Vol. 
I., Appendix, p. 439-489, according to Munich manuscripts, transl. into German, 
■with Introduction and Annotations hy C. Ritter, Linz, 1853. Conf. Friedrtch, 
1. c, p. 858-383. 

The Life of St. Severin, hy his disciple Eugippius, is of inestimable value, as 
it contains information of the condition of things in that age which could he 
obtained from no other source; for the Danuhian provinces may he said to have 
been shrouded in utter darkness during the period immediately preceding and 
the period immediately following the life of these two men. From no other 
source could we obtain so abundant information of the then flourishing condi- 
tion of Christianity, and the complete organization of the Church in the Roman 
provinces to the soutli of the Danube. It is certainly providential, that, just on 
the eve of the decline of these provinces, a work should be left us which de- 
scribes so graphically, and with so much detail, the state of the country and 
the characteristics of its inhabitants. (^Wattenbach, Germany's Sources of His- 
tory, p. 34.) 

That St. Severin was of noble extraction, there can be no doubt, and it is not 
unlikely that he belonged to the last of the ruling houses of Home. Inspired 
with the desire of laboring in the cause of Christ among the oppressed inhabit- 
ants of Noricum, he withdrew into solitude and obscuritj'. He practiced the 
most extreme austerities, went barefoot during the most inclement seasons, and, 
though he observed excessive fasts, quite forgot himself in his desire to supply 
the food of life to the famishing souls of those about him. He went up and 
down the country exhorting and preaching penance, comforting the distressed, 
and alleviating, as best he could, the wants of the needy. He regularly exacted 
tithes of those who could pay them, for the support of the poor and the- redemp- 



§ 153. The Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy. 33 

tory no one seemed to know, and those other great men who 
rivaled the zeal and the glory of St. Severin — St. Honoratus 
and St. Hilary of Aries, Eucherius of Lyons, and others no 
less distinguished. All these exercised an influence Avhich 
Attila and the other leaders of barbarous hordes found it im- 
possible to resist. 

§ 153. The Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy. 

Jornandes, de rebus Geticis. Procopii Cues, historiar. libb. IV-VIII. (in 
Germ, by Kanneg lesser, Vols. 8 and 4.) Aurel. Cassiodori Variarum (epistola- 
rum) lib. XII. et Chronicon (consulare). Pauli Warnefridi de gestis Longo- 
bardor. libb. VI. (Muratorl, scriptor. Ital. T. I. Gregor. M. epp. opp. Paris, 
1705, T. II.) Manso, Hist, of the Ostrogothic Empire, Breslau, 1824. Sarto- 
rius, Hist, of the Ostrogoths, transl. into German, Hamb. 1811, from the French 
of da Roure, histoire de Theodoric le Grand, Paris, 1846, 2 vols. Gregoroijius, 
Hist, of Kome during the M. A., Vol. I., p. 273 sq. v. Reumont, Hist, of Piome, 
Vol. II., p. 1-127. Dahn, Germanic Kings. Koch-Siernfeld, The Kingdom of 
the Lombards in Italy, according to Paul Warnefr., Munich, 1839. FLegler, 
The Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy, Lps. 1851. 

Even Odoacer, the leader of the Heruli,' the conqueror of 
Italy, and the destroyer of the Koman Empire (a. d. 476), was 
subdued by the presence of the mysterious St. Severin. His 
reign came to an end after the Ostrogoths, under the leader- 
ship of Theodoric, had issued from Pannonia (a. d. 488), and 
conquered Italy and Sicily, Rhaetia and ISToricum, Vindelicia 
and Dalmatia, and established a vast empire, whose authority 
extended over all these countries. But, for the space of eleven 
years, during which the reign of Odoacer lasted, the Catholic 
Church enjoyed, through his indulgence, the blessings of com- 
parative peace ; and this notwithstanding that he was him- 
self an Arian. 

Although both Theodoric and his people embraced the 
Arian heresy, his policy toward the Catholic Church was 
characterized by humanity and moderation, and not nnfre- 

t;on of captives. His authority was great in the land, and it was said that the 
eleinents and the lower orders of beings were obedient to his command, and that 
the wrath of God overtook all who would not hearken to his words. Kraus, Ch. 
Hist, of the Middle Ages. (Tk.) 
^ Stolberg-Kerz, Pt. XVII., p. 474 sq. Eugippii Vita Severini, c. 14. 
VOL II — 3 



34 Penod 2. Ejpoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

quently by justice and impartiality. In pursuing this course 
he was guided by the prudent counsel of Cassiodorus, his wise 
and learned chancellor. 

During the reign of Theodoric, Italy enjoyed a measure of 
her former prosperity ; the clouds that had so long darkened 
the laud were broken, and for a season her fair fields bloomed 
as of old, and Rome herself was called the Happy City {Eorna 
Felix). Theodoric's treatment of the Romanians was consid- 
erate and just. He protected them against the oppression of 
the Goths, and secured to them the benefits of their ancient 
rights, laws, and institutions. But toward the close of his 
reign, which lasted thirty-six years, incensed at a law passed 
against the Arians by Justin, the Roman emperor of the 
East, he revenged himself upon the Catholics of his own do- 
minions, whom he pursued with tyrannical severity. He cast 
Pope John into prison, where the latter languished for awhile, 
and finally died, a. d. 526. He also put to death, for crimes 
of which they were declared guilty on the testimony of sub- 
orned witnesses, Symynachus, his father-in-law, and Boethiiis^ 
both men of consular dignity. While in confinement, Boethius 
enjoyed as best he could the consolation afforded by science 
and religion, and has left his thoughts on these subjects to 
posterity, in his admirable work entitled "On the Consolation 
of Philosophy." 

Theodoric died A. d. 526, and under his successors the per- 
secution against the Catholics in a great measure ceased. 
Amalasuntha, the daughter of Theodoric, who governed in 
the name of her son, 'Athalaric, a minor, succeeded to her 
father; but after the death of her son, she shared the throne 
with her cousin, TheodotuSyhj whom she was murdered. The 
emperor Justinian, under pretense of avenging this murder, 
sent his general, Najses, at the head of an imperial army, 
into Italy, and after an eighteen years war (a. d. 535-553), 
destroyed the Ostrogothic empire. Italy became a Roman 
province, and was governed by exarchs who resided at Ra- 
venna, of whom ISTarses was the first and Longinus the sec- 

lOn Boethius and Cassiodorus, see Akoc/'s Patrology, 2d ed., p. 413-418; and, 
on the latter, also Montalembert, Monks of the West, Vol. I., p. 348-356, Ger- 
man Transl., Vol. II., p. 77-88. 



§ 153. The Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy. 35 

ond. So complete was the overthrow of the Visigoths, that 
in a short time the very name of this gallant people disap- 
peared. 

In the year 568, the Lombards, under the command of their 
king, Alboin, entered Italy, either of their own accord, or, as 
's more probahle, at the invitation of H'arses, who had been 
deeply offended by the empress. Leaving Pannonia, they 
crossed the Carnian Alps, and, with the aid of twenty thou- 
sand Saxons and some other hordes, took possession of the- 
whole of ISTorthern Italy, in whose fertile fields they perma- 
nently settled, and gave to it their own name. It would 
seem that Providence had decreed that there should not re- 
main a single Roman province in the West. Pavia fell into 
the hands of the conquerors after a siege of three years, and 
after the death of Alboin, who was assassinated at the insti- 
gation of his wife, Rosamond,, his successors gradually ex- 
tended the empire to the south, till it comprehended nearly 
the entire Italian peninsula. All that remained to the Byzan- 
tines were the duchies of Pome and !N"aples, a few cities on 
the Ligarian and Adriatic coasts, such as Venice and the 
exarchate of Pavenna, and the tongue of land on the south- 
east of the peninsula. 

This was, both for the Church and for Italj', a season of 
unspeakable misery. The Arian Lombards, who possessed 
neither the versatility nor the humanity of the Goths, on the 
one hand, exhibited no inclination or fitness for political or- 
ganization, and, on the other, manifested the most violent 
hatred of the Catholics whom they found in the country. 
This will account both for the interregnum of ten years which 
followed the assassination of lUeph, the successor to Alboin, 
during which the country was governed by thirty-six dukes, 
and for their cruel persecution of the Catholics of Ital}'. At 
the close of the ten years, it was found necessary to restore the 
otfice of king, and Flavins Antharis, the son of Kleph, ascended 
the throne. He had married Theodolinda (Dietlinde), a Pava- 
riau princess, through whose influence the condition of the 
orthodox Catholics was very considerably ameliorated. She 
herself professed the Catholic faith, and labored with zeal in 
the work of converting the Arian Lombards. On the death 



36 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

of her husband (a. d. 690), Theodolinda, in compliance with 
the wish of the Lombard lords, took the reins of power into 
her own hands, and shortly after associated Duke Agilulf with 
herself in the governm.ent of the kingdom.^ 

GEEGOEY THE GREAT, a. d. 590-604. 

This favorable condition of affairs should be attributed, in 
a great measure, to the prudent counsels of Gregory the 
Great,^ whom God seems to have raised up at this period to 
be the protector of Italy and the guardian of the Church. 
Descended from the senatorial and wealthy house of the 
Anicii, he soon became so distinguished for integrity of char- 
acter, for his varied literary and scientific attainments, and for 
those graces and accomplishments so becoming, if not abso- 
lutely necessary, to one in his condition of life, that he rap- 
idly rose in favor till he reached the high and honorable oiSce 
of Praetor of Eome. Such distinctions, though highly attract- 
ive and capable of yielding an honest satisfaction to an upi'ight 
mind, were not to Gregory's liking. He felt that God was 
calling him to a higher, a holier, and a purer life, and still he 
hesitated. But the struggle was soon past, and Gregory sur- 
rendered himself, with characteristic generosity, to the influ- 
ence of grace. He devoted his wealth to the endowment of 
six new monasteries in Sicily, and established a seventh in his 
own palace, upon the Coelian Hill, at Rome, which he had 
inherited from his father, and in which he himself became a 
monk. All Eome was amazed to behold one, who formerly 
went forth with all the circumstance of a great dignitary of 
state, clad in costly robes and decked with jewels, now walk 
the streets of the city with the unassuming air of a beggar, 
and dressed in the coarse habit of an humble follower of St. 
Benedict. 



1 Kraus, Ch. H. of the M. A., pp. 215, 216. 

2 His biography by Joannes eocl. Eom. diacou. and Paul Warnefnd. in Gregor. 
M. opp. ed. St. Marths, Paris, 1705, 4 T. fol. (in T. IV.) locupl. GaLUcioU, Venet, 
1768, 17 T. 4to. Ahog's Patrology, 2d ed., p. 420-427. Palma, praelect. h. e. T. 
II., Pt. I., p. 44-86. Stolberg-Kerz, Pt. XX., p. 346 sq. Lau, Gregory the Great, 
Lps. 1845. Bohriiiger, Ch. H. in Biographies, Vol. I., Pt. IV., p. 310-426. Her^ 
der, Thoughts on the Hist, of Mankind, Pt. IV., p. 109. 



§ 153. The Ostrog.oths and Lombards in Italy. 37 

Like all noble and generous souls, Gregory, as soon as he 
bad taken the obligations of a monk upon himself, determined 
to keep faith with himself and with his God. He practiced 
the most severe austerities; applied himself to the study of 
Holy Scripture; read, wrote, and prayed, and observed so 
Etrict a fast that his health finally gave away. His only food 
had been pulse, which his mother, who had become a nun 
since the death of her husband, prepared for him, and sent to 
his monastery, but he was now obliged to take more substan- 
tial food. At the request of Pope Benedict I., but much 
against his own will and inclination, Gregory quitted his 
•raonastery in the year 577 to become one of the seven 
cardinal-deacons, or regionaries, who presided over the seven 
principal divisions of Rome. It cost him still greater pain 
to accede to the wishes of Pope Pelagius II., who sent him 
as Apoerisiariiis, or iN^uncio, to the court of the Emperor Tibe- 
rius, at Constantinople. He was accompanied on this mission 
by several monks, and with them observed, as nearly as he 
could, the rule of his order, and applied himself to reading 
and study. 

He nevertheless discharged his duties with marked ability, 
and succeeded in restoring the friendly relations between the 
Holy See and the Byzantine Court, which had been inter- 
rupted by the invasion of the Lombards. 

His eminent talents for business, his learning, his piety, his 
rigor toward himself, his watchful care over the conduct of 
others, and his solicitude and energy in guarding and defend- 
ing the interests of the Church, pointed him out as one who 
would discharge the duties of the Pontifical office with honor 
and distinction, and he was accordingly raised to this great 
dignity on the death of Pelagius, a. d. 590. It is to him that 
the Catholic Church of the "West is indebted for her august 
liturgy and the splendor of her worship, for the solemn 
majesty and sweet melody of her chant, and for the extinc- 
lion of the schism which had arisen out of the Three Chap- 
ters,'^ and which for a time threatened to cut off from the body 

' See Vol. I., p. 623. 



38 Period 2. Upoch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 1. 

of the Church the bishops of Venetia and Istria. It is to him 
also that the Anglo-Saxon Church owes her origin. 

Gregory had but one object in view in all his undertakings, 
and that was the exaltation and glory of the Church. "My 
honor," he writes, "is the honor of the whole Church; my 
honor is to behold my brethren (the bishops) filled with 
single-minded and earnest energy (solidus vigor). Then only 
do I feel that I enjoy true honor, when the honor due to all 
is denied to none."^ 

Besides being a model monk and a model churchman, Greg- 
ory the Great was also the most distinguished writer of his 
age. His Avritings have lai'gely contributed to secure for him 
the title of Great, and have been, in a great measure, the 
source of the powerful influence which he has exerted upon 
the Church from his own day to ours. 

When he ascended the Papal throne, the morality of the 
clergy was greatly relaxed, and to his active energy and the 
example of his own life is again due the purity of morals 
which characterized the ecclesiastics of e\ery grade, at the 
close of his pontificate. 

That he fully appreciated what a true priest should be, is 
abundantly proved by his work, entitled the ''Pastoral," con- 
taining rules concerning the vocation, life, and teaching of 
pastors; and that he had sufficient courage, self-denial, and 
resolution to put these rules into practice in his own case, is 
manifest from the history of his life. Gregory's experience, 
personal holiness, and insight into character, enabled him to 
detect those among his clergy who were imbued with his own 
spirit and love of virtue. He sent men of this character into 
every part of Italy to provide for the wants of all, and to 
eradicate, by the power of the word of God, the traces of 
Paganism which were here and there beginning to appear. 

His vigilance in watching over the rights of the priesthood, 
and his zeal in defending them when attacked, were not con- 
fined to one district or country, but extended, as was fitting, 
over the whole Church of which he was the Supreme Pastor. 
He corrected numerous abuses; caused orphan asylums and 

> Epistolar. lib. VIII., ep. 80, ad Eulogium. 



§ 153. The Ostrogoths and Lombards in Italy. 39 

schools for the poor, institutions hitherto unknown, to be 
erected in many and distant lands, — an ample evidence that 
his tender solicitude and paternal care were as wide as the 
limits of the Church, and as deep as her charity. 

A man of such untiring activity and such stirring energy, 
who exerted so deep and lasting influence upon the destinies 
of the Church, well deserved the title of Great, which his 
contemporaries cheerfully eonfei-red upon him, and which 
has been confirmed by the universal verdict of posterity. 

His strenuous efforts to defend the rights, privileges, and 
institutions of the Church, commanded the respect and elic- 
ited the admiration of even the Arian Lombards. Owing to 
the ceaseless wars waged against each other by the Greek 
exarchs and the Lombard princes, the hatred of the Italians 
against their northern conquerors had grown so deep and in- 
tense, that St. Gregory, if he would, could at any moment 
have called his countrymen to arms, brought about a universal 
uprising, and precipitated a general war. But he preferred 
the more lasting, if less brilliant, honors which attach to the 
office of mediator, to the doubtful glory of an unsuccessful 
warrior.^ He asked both parties to consider the consequences 
of further prolonging the struggle. " What," said he, " can 
be the result of continuing the contest other than the destruc- 
tion of many thousand men, who, whether they be Lombards 
or Romans, would be more usefully employed in tilling the 
fields." 

He died March 12, a. d. 604, a martyr to his indefatigable 
zeal and restless activity, having, according to Herder, gone 
through more work in the same length of time than any ten 
of the secular or ecclesiastical princes of his age were capa- 
ble of. 

In the next century, when the Lombards, under kings Luit- 
prand and Rachis, were again threatening the reduction and 
sacking of Eome, Pope Zachary (a. d. 741-752), mindful of the 
example of his successor, the great Leo, went on an embassy 
to Pavia and Perugia, and at the former place obtained assur- 
ances of peace, and at the latter a promise that his city 

^Epist. lib. IV., ep. 47. 



40 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

should not be besieged. N^ay, so great aa influeace did his 
presence exert, that Eachis, a few days later, laid down the 
Iron Crown, and retired with his wife, the princes and prin- 
cesses of his family, to the monastery of St. Benedict.^ 

§ 154. Benedict of Nursia — Western Monasiicism. 

Mabtllonii annales Ord. St. Bened. (to 1157, Paris, 1703-1739), Luc. 1739-1745, 
6 T. fol. in the Praef. saec. I., p. 7 : Observationes de monachis in Oocid. ante 
Benedictum. DacJierli et MabillonU acta Sanctor. Ord. St. Bened. (to 1100), 
Paris, 1668-1701, 9 T. fol. The Life of St. Benedict in Gregor. M. dialog, lib. 
II. opp. ed. Bened., T. II., p. 207-276. Compare also Bolland. acta SS. mens. 
Martii., T. III., p. 247 sq. The Rule of St. Benedict, in Hohtenii, cod. regul. 
monast., T. I., p. 111-137; Germ. Transl. by Father Charles Brmides, in his 
Benedictine Library: Life of St. Benedict, his Kule and Explanation of it. 
Our Lady of Hermits, 1856-1858, 2d ed., 1863, 3 small vols. The same, The 
Benedictine Order and its -world-wide influence (Tiibg. Quarterl., 1851, p. 1-40) 
X^Montalembert, les Moines de I'Occident, 5 vols., Paris, 1860; Engl, transl. by 
Mrs. OUphant, London, 5 vols.; American ed., Boston, 1872, 2 vols.. Vol. I., p. 
805-345; Germ. Transl. by Charles Brandes, O.S.B., Eatisbon, 1860-1868, Vol. 
II., p. 1-73. 

The Order of St. Benedict, which was but a fresh manifesta- 
tion of the principle of Divine energy, residing and constantly 
at work in the Church, came into existence at a time when 
both Church and State were threatened with irremediable dis- 
asters by the continued incursions of the Barbarians. This 
order not only saved the Church from the calamities with 
which she was then menaced, but also gave her the assurance 
of a new lease of life, imparted to her fresh vigor, and in- 
spired, fostered, and preserved that wealth of spiritual culture 
which has been a blessing to all succeeding ages. , 

The first monks that had been seen in the West were Am- 
monius and Isidore, who accompanied St. Athanasius, when 
this great bishop came to Rome to invoke the protection of 
Pope Julius. While this heroic man was passing his exile in 
Gaul, be had an opportunity, of which he promptly availed 
himself, of adding to the glory he had already won by hia 
noble defense of the divinity of Christ, that of animating 
the West with a holy reverence and a religious zeal for the 

lEdicta regum Longobardorum, ed Vesme, Aug. Taurinor., 1855. Conf. John 
von Mailer, Journeys of Popes. 



§ 154. Benedict of Nursia — Western Monasticism. 41 

monastic life; and the love of self-denial and anstei-ity in- 
spired by his eloquence was kept alive and fostered by the 
examples of holiness so graphically set forth in his Life of 
St. Anthony. In Italy, the elements of monastic life were 
brought into shape, adjusted, and organized by Eusebius of 
Vercelli, Ambrose of Milan, and Jerome; Augustine was elo- 
quent in its praise in Africa; Martin, Bishop of Tours,' intro- 
duced it into Northern, and Cassian into Southern Gaul. 

As early as a. d. 400, two thousand monks followed the 
mortal remains of St. Martin to the grave. 

But the severity of the Western climate would not admit 
of so rigorous a discipline as that practiced vvith perfect im- 
punity under the more genial skies of the East. It was, 
therefore, necessary to modifj^ the Rule, and, as is usual un- 
der such circumstances, every one thought himself at liberty 
to introduce such changes as he conceived to be best suited to 
the conditions of the country and to the habits of the people. 
Changes so arbitrary, introduced at a time when the country 
was harassed by the invasions of the Barbarians and society 
upheaved, threatened the "dismemberment of the Church and 
the destruction of monasticism. Happily, Providence gave 
to the Church at this time a man, destined to future celebrity, 
who drew order out of confusion, and established the monas- 
tic rule in the West on a solid and permanent basis ; and thus 
rescued from destruction an institution whose services to relig- 
ion from that day to this have been both extremely eminent 
and beneiicial. This was Benedict, of the noble house of the 
Anicii, and, on his mother's side, the last scion of the lords 
of Nursia, a Sabine town, where he was born a. d. 480. He 
was put to school at Rome, where he received an excellent 
education for his years, but he felt ill at ease amid the corrup- 
tion of that great city. At the early ago of fourteen, he re- 
solved to give up study, to break the ties of family, and to 
renounce the pleasures and allurements of the world. Bid- 
ding farewell to friends and home and all he held dear, he 

' SulpicU Severi, de vita B. Martini lib. ; dialogi tres, and epist. tres. ; Gregor. 
Turon. de miracul. St. Martini. Conf. '' Montalembert, 1. o. Amer. ed., Vol. I, 
p. 265-272; Germ, transl., Vol. I., p. 213-221. Meinkens, Martin of Tours, the 
wonder-working monk and bishop, Brsl. 1866. 



42 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

plunged into those almost inaccessible hills through which 
the river Anio forces its way, leaping from fall to fall, to the 
town of Subiaco (Sublaqueum.) On his way he met a monk, 
named Homanus, who gave him a haircloth shirt, and a mo- 
nastic dress made of skins. Continuing on his way, he met 
an abrupt rock overhanging the course of the Anio, in which 
there was a dark and narrow cave, into which the sun never 
found its way. Here he remained three entire years, cut off 
from all the world, and unknown to all, except the monk 
Romanus, who supplied him with food, which he conveyed 
to the solitary by letting it down from the top of the rock by 
a rope, to which was attached a bell, to give warning that the 
scanty meal was at hand. 

But his place of concealment could not always remain a 
secret, and he was at length discovered by shepherds, who at 
first thought him a wild beast, but proclaimed him a great 
servant of God after the holy man had discoursed to them of 
the graces and mercies of Christ. 

While here he was assailed by a terrible temptation. The 
memory of a lady whom he had formerly known continued 
to haunt him, and' so great was the impression she had made 
upon him that he was on the point of leaving his retreat, 
when a great grace was poured in upon his soul, and, acting 
under its inspiration, he plunged naked into a clump of thorns 
and briers near his grotto, rolling about in them till he was 
one w^ound, and, amid the pains of the body, hushed forever 
the solicitations of passion. 

The retreat of the young solitary was soon broken in upon. 
The people of the neighborhood came to ask his blessing, and 
the monks of the monastery near Vicovaro continued to im- 
portune him till he consented to become their abbot. They, 
however, soon tired of liis austere severity, and attempted to 
rid themselves of him by poison. The attempt was discov- 
ered, for, when Benedict made the sign of the cross over the 
vessel, it burst in pieces. 

Benedict again withdrew to his cavern ; but the holiness of 
his life and the beauty of his example excited so much jeal- 
ousy and hatred against him, that he resolved to leave forever 
a place his presence had so long sanctified. 



§ 154. Benedict of Nursia — Western Monastieism. 43 

He set out from Subiaco, and, directing his course along the 
western side of the Apennines and toward the south, he came 
at last to a magnificent monntain overlooking the river Liris 
(Garigliano) at its source, where he rested (a. d. 529). This is 
llonte Cassino. 

Here St. Benedict built two chapels — one dedicated to St. 
John the Baptist, the first solitary of the new faith', and the 
other to St.^Martin, the great bishop of Tours; and around 
these rose the monastery destined to become the most cele- 
brated religious retreat of the Catholic world, where Bene- 
dict wrote the Hide, and from whence bishops and popes went 
forth to govern the Church by their prudence and wisdom, 
and to edify her children by their virtuous lives and illus- 
ti-ious examj)les. The life of labor, of prayer, and of medi- 
tation pursued by St. Benedict and his children contained 
the germ and served as the model of that more stately and 
complex organization into which his order developed at a 
later day. 

His Hide, which contains seventy-three articles, is an abridg- 
ment of Christian doctrine, and embraces all the counsels of 
evangelical perfection. It is based on a thorough knowledge 
of human nature, and is characterized by a happy union of 
mildness and severitj^ of simplicity and prudence. Two lead- 
ing principles run through every article of the liule, viz., 
labor and obedience ; and its spirit and aim seem to be to 
bring together all the members of a monastery into one fam- 
ily circle, with relations to each other as open and tender as 
those which exist between father and son or brother and 
brother. 

The wisest of each community was chosen by the suffrages 
of his brethren to be set over them, and the name of Father, 
or Abbas, which he received on entering upon his duties, ex- 
pressed the affectionate relations he held toward the others, 
who were called his Brothers. 

The abbot was expected to teach by example rather than 
precept; to study carefully the character, disposition, and 
tastes of every member of the monastery over which he was 
set; to direct each as prudence might suggest; to temper 
mildness with severity, and to cai-efuUy abstain from mani- 



44 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

festing any preference of one above another. The most effica- 
cious checks to any temptation, on the part of the abbot, to 
abuse his authority, vere an abiding sense of the dreadful 
account he would one day be called upon to render to God, 
and the holy and inviolable character of the Euh {sancta 
regula), wiiich bound him equally with the lowest member of 
the community. 

ISText to the ahhot, but subordinate to him, came the prior 
(praepositus), and, for the more complete and efficient direc- 
tion of the monks, a dean was set over every ten of them. 

The monks were instructed to regard their superiors as the 
representatives of Jesus Christ, and to obey them accord- 
ingly. 

The postulant (pulsans), or one who applied for admission 
into the community, was to pass through a year's probation, 
or novitiate, during which the serious obligations of the life 
upon which he was about to enter were, as directed by the 
Rule, brought before his mind three successive times. 

But the most radical innovation upon former customs was 
the duty of residence (stabilitas loci) enjoined by the fifty- 
eighth article of the Rule, which forbade the monks to pass 
from one house to another, and directed that each one should 
remain where he had made his vows. 

St. Benedict was keenly alive to. the dangers of a uniformly 
cloistered life, and wisely provided against them. He intro- 
duced among his monks the practice of alternate prayer and 
labor, and prescribed that, when not engaged in singing the 
praises of the Lord as set forth in the words of the psalm,' 
" Seven times a day have I sung thy praises," they should be 
continually engaged in various occupations, according to the 
talents, skill, and acquirements of each, such as manual labor, 
reading, transcribing manuscripts and books, and giving in- 
structions to the young. He used frequently to remind his 
brethren that "they could not be truly monks unless they 
should live by the labor of their hands, like their fathers and 
the apostles." 

The tendency of the age and the wisdom of the Rule of St. 

' cxviii. 164. 



§ 154. Benedict of Nursia — Western 3Ionasticism. 45 

Benedict soon attracted to his monastery a great number of 
young men. Among the most distinguished of his disciples 
were Placidus and Maurus, who labored energetically and as- 
siduously to establish the order in Sicily and Gaul. 

Gregory the Great, who was much attached to the ordei', 
exerted his powerful influence to further its interests, became 
himself a member of it, and wrote the Life of St. Benedict as 
a labor of love. 

The life of this great saint of the "West was drawing near 
its close, and he had already announced his approaching death 
to many of his monks then at a distance from Monte Cassino. 
On the sixth day of his illness he requested to be carried into 
the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, where, supported on the 
arms of his disciples, he received the Holy Viaticum; after 
which he was taken to the foot of the altar, and at the side 
of the grave in which he had directed his remains to be laid, 
standing erect, with hands extended to Heaven and a prayer 
upon his lips, he gave back his great and pure soul to God, 
March 21, a. d. 643. He was buried by the side of his sister, 
Scholastica, on the very spot where the altar of Apollo, which 
he had cast down, had stood. 

" The results of Benedict's work," says Count de Monta- 
lembert, "were immense. In his lifetime, as after his death, 
the sons of the noblest races in Italy, and the best of the con- 
verted Barbarians, came in multitudes to Monte Cassino. 
They came out again, and descended from it, to spread them- 
selves over all the "West ; missionaries and husbandmen who 
were soon to become the doctors and pontifis, the artists and 
legislators, the historians and poets of the new world. . . . 
Less than a century after the death of Benedict, all barbarism 
had won from civilization was reconquered. And more still, 
his children took in hand to carry the Gospel beyond those 
limits which had confined the first disciples of Christ. . . . 
The West was saved. A new empire was founded ; a new 
world began.'" 



' Monks of the "West, American ed., Vol. I., p. 844. (Tk.) 



46 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 



§ 155. Christianity among the Franks — Trium-ph of Catholicity. 

Gregor. Twron. Hist. Pranoor. iJwi'nar!', Paris, 1699, fol. (Bouquet, T. II., p, 
75, iu Migne^s ser. lat. T. 71.) Germ, transl. Wurzb. 1848-1849; von Giesebrecht, 
Berlin, 1851, 2 vols. Leibnitz, de origine Francor., appended to Eccards ed. of 
the Salic and Ripuarian Laws, Francof. 1720, fol. Fredegar. Chron. Conf. ~Dv^ 
chesne. Hist. Franc, script. Paris, 1636-1649, 5 vols. ^'Bouquet, Eecueil des hist 
de la Gaule, etc., Paris, 1738-1855, 21 vols. (Tk.) Eettberg, Ch. H. of Germany 
Vol. I., p. 258 sq. Friedrich, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. II., p. 57-114. Heber, 
The Pre-Carlovingian Christian Heroes of the Paith on the Ehine, Frkft. 1858 
"W. Junghans, Hist, of the Prankish kings, Childeric and Chlodwic, Getting. 
1867. Bornhac, Hist, of the Franks under the Merovingians, Greifswalde, 1863. 
Ozanam, la civilisation chretienne chez les Francs, Paris, 1849. (Tk.) 

It is, probable that the Franks were acquainted, with the 
Christian religion some considerable time before they made 
their final conquest of Gaul. Bands of these Frankish war- 
riors were in the habit of crossing the Roman boundary of 
the Rhine, at first for purposes of plunder, and afterward in 
the hope of obtaining permanent settlement, and in this way 
were, for many years previously to their conversion to Chris- 
tianity, brought into close and familiar intercourse with the 
current of thought and every-day life of the Romans. More- 
over, many of them served in the armies of Rome. 

These circumstances will serve to explain why the Frank- 
ish chieftains entertained so high an admiration of St. Am- 
brose, and ascribed to his friendship and good-will the victo- 
ries of the Frankish Comes Arbogastus. 

About the second half of the fifth century, the Franks had 
settled permanently in Gaul. They had divided into two 
principal branches of the Salii, who inhabited the country 
between the Scheldt and the Meuse, and the Bipuarii, who 
probably dwelt between the Meuse, Moselle, and Rhine. 

Although they sacked and destroyed many cities, and car- 
ried desolation far and wide into the surrounding country, 
there is no evidence that they purposely oppressed the Chris- 
lians or manifested any special dislike of their religion. On 
the contrary, it would seem that the Franks Avere, if not well 
disposed toward Christianity, at least tolerant of its practice; 
for, although they had possession of the cities of Cologne, 
Maestricht, Tongres, Treves, and Toul, not a single church 



§ 155. Chris, among the Franks — Triumph of Catholicism. 47 

was destroyed during their occupation; and it is, moreover, 
certain that Comes Arbogastus, who ruled, perhaps in the 
name of the Roman Empire, with sovereign authority, at 
Treves-, as early as a. d. 470, was both a Fi'ank and a Chris- 
tian. Neither was the Christian religion unknown in the 
royal house of the Salii ; for Lautechild and Audefieda, the 
daughters of Childeric, who died a. d. 481 , the latter of whom 
was the wife oi .Theodoric of Bern, were Arians. 

Here, as elsewhere, the triumph of the Church was brought 
about through the instrumentality of a Catholic prince.^ This 
was Chlod.ewig (Clovis), the son of Childeric and chief of the 
Salic Eranks (a. d.) 481-511), who, by his victory at Soissons, 
A. D. 486, over the Roman governor Syagriiis, put an end to 
the Roman supremacy in Gaul. 

lie laid the foundation of the monarchy of the Franks in those 
provinces of which he had gained possession, and which lay 
between the Somme and the Seine, and extended to the south 
and east as far as the Loire and Rhone. Plis attention had 
already been directed to Christianity, to which he seemed 
much inclined, by his queen, Clotilda, a Burgundian princess.^ 
"When engaged in battle against the Alemanni, near the town 
of Tolbiacum, or Zillpich,^ perceiving that the issue of the 
contest was doubtful, he made a vow to become a Christian 
'if God should grant him the victory. After the leader of the 
Alemanni had fallen, the soldiers of the defeated army cried 
out : " Si^are us, King ; we are thy people." 

Clovis was instructed in the Christian religion by Vedastus 
of Toul, and St. Hemigius of Rheims, the apostle of the 
Franks, and on Christmas day, A. D. 496, received baptism at 
the hands of the latter. On this occasion, St. Remigius, ad- 
dressing Clovis, and referring to the idols of Pagan and to 

^ 6ay, Ste. Clotilde et les origines chret. de la nation et monarchie francjaise, 
Paris, 1867. Bouquetie, Ste. Clotilde et son siecle, Paris, 1867. 

■■'Clodewig (Clovis) had, at the request of his pious consort, consented, that, 
after his death, the heir-presumptive might receive haptism, and the same per- 
mission was granted to the second son in the event of the death of the heir- 
presumptive. 

3 It is more prohahle, as Junghans and others assert, that the place here 
mentioned is not Ziilpich on the Lower, hut Alpich in the Palatinate, on the 
Upper Rhine. 



48 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

the symbols of Christian worship, said : " liumble thyself, 
proud Sicambrian ; burn now what thou didst formerly adore, 
and adore now what thou didst formerly burn."^ 

Three thousand noble Franks and a great number of Frank- 
ish ladies followed the example of Clovis, and were at once 
baptized by the attending bishops and clergy. 

According to a legend of a more recent date,^ the press of 
people was so great at the ceremony of the anointing and 
coronation of Clovis, that the attendant who bore the chrism 
could not make his way to Bishop Remigius, who officiated 
on this occasion. The interruption, however, was short ; for 
a white dove descending from Heaven supjDlied the sacred oil, 
and, after the prince had been anointed and crowned, he wns 
saluted as the newly arisen Constantine. 

Pope Anastasius II. was overjoyed at this conversion, and 
entertained the hope that Clovis would prove the sincerity of 
his faith and the loyalty of his devotion by becoming the 
champion of the rights of the Church. He addressed a letter 
to the king, in which he said : " Complete the work thou hast 
begun, and become our consolation and our crown. Let thy 
conduct be so ordered that thy mother, the Church, who has 
borne thee to God, may rejoice in the undertakings and 
triumphs of so great a king. As thou art great and illus- 
trious, be thou also the consolation of thy mother ; be reso- 
lute and firm in her defense, and arm thyself with the helmet 
of salvation against the designs of the ungodly." 

St. Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, although a subject of Grunde- 
bald, also wrote to Clovis, congratulating him on his conver- 
sion to Christianity. " Be assured," he said, " most illustrious 
of princes, that the spotless robe of the humble neophyte will 
add fresh strength to the valor of thy arms, and that the 
deeds which by the aid of thy good fortune thou hast already 
achieved, will be eclipsed by the glory of those which thy 
piety will enable thee to perform. The world is filled with 

'Mitis depone colla, Sicamber, adora quod incendisti, incende quod ado- 
rasti. (Tk.) 

^Hincmar is the first who relates this legend. This oil of chrism, which was 
used at the coronation ceremony of the French kings, was, until the year 1793, 
preserved in a phial in the cathedral of Eheims. 



§ 155. Chris, among the Franks — Triumph of Catholicism. 49 

the fame of thy victories, and we, though of a foreign coun- 
try, share in the glory of thy triunaphs. When thou art vic- 
torious in battle, we feel that thy victories are ours as well." 

The hopes entertained of this illustrious prince by Pope 
Auastasius and St. Avitus were fully realized. The lamp of 
Faith was lighted in France on Christmas night, and that 
festival has on this account always been specially dear to the 
French people. It is with them pre-eminently a family fes- 
tival; and "iVogr' has ever been the inspiring battle-cry of 
that gallant and chivalrous nation. From the days of Charles 
Martel to our own, the Church has never appealed in vain for 
aid to the power and sword of France. The bishops who had 
assembled in council at Orleans, A. d. 511, bestowed on Clovis 
the honorable title of " Eldest Son of the Church.''^ This 
prince did in fact attack and defeat the Burgundians and the 
Visigoths at Voulge, near Poictiers (a. d. 507), and deprived 
them of nearly all their possessions in Gaul. 

It is much to be regretted that the life of Clovis by no 
means corresponded to the earnest professions of his conver- 
sion, or to the sincere respect which he uniformly showed to 
the clergy. He left to his four sons a vast empire stained 
with deeds of blood and murder. 

St. Gregory of Tours^ assures us that dissension and de- 
bauchery were, for many years after the death of Clovis, 
familiar to the house of the Merovingians; and that bishops 
who had the courage to rebuke the royal libertines were sent 
into exile. , These were frequently the ablest and most fear- 
less defenders of the Church. A period of brighter promise 
was entered upon when Dagobert I., after the death of his 
father and brothers, united all the provinces of the Prankish 
monarchy under one rule. Owing, however, to the want of 



^ Stncmari, vita S. Eemigii, c. 3 [Hmcm. opp. T. I. Paris, 1645, fol, and Surius, 
vitae SS. ad d. 13. Januar.) Conf. v. Murr, The Holy Phial at Rheims, Niirn- 
bcrg, 1801. Alberd. Thijm, les fils aines ds I'eglise (Eevue Beige et etrangere, 
lirnx. 1861). 

2 Conf. Lobell, Gregory of Tours, and his Age, Lps. 1889. BornhacJc, Hist, of 
the Pranks under the Merovingians, Greifswalde, 1863, Pt. I. NSdelin, Mero- 
vingian Royalty, Stuttg. 1865. 
VOL. II — 4 



50 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

energy and the worthlessnesa of the royal imbeciles who suc- 
ceeded Dagobert, the monarchy was soon torn by internal 
dissensions and the country ravaged by the inroads of the 
Saracens. For a similar reason the government was wholly 
administered by the majores domus; and Charles Marfel, v/ho 
succeeded to that office on the death of his father, Pepin of 
Heristal, squandered the property of the Church upon lay ab- 
bots and soldiers. Pepin the Short, and his brother, Carloman, 
held the ofEce conjointly until the latter withdrew into the 
monastery of Monte Cassino. Pepin secured the esteem of 
the nobles by the success of his wars in Saxony and Bavaria, 
and of the clergy by his co-operation with Archbishop Boni- 
face in the efforts of the latter to reform the Church. Thus 
strong in the affections of both these classes, he summoned, 
with the consent of Pope Zachary, a general assembly of the 
empire to meet at Soissons, where he had Childeric III. de- 
posed and himself anointed by Boniface king of the Franks, 
A. D. 752. The affairs of the Church now assumed a more 
hopeful aspect, and continued to improve under Charlemagne, 
the son and successor of Pepin. 

§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 

St. Pairicii opuso. (max. bibl. T. VIII. ; Galland. bibl. T. X., p. 159 sq.) ed. 
Waraeus., Lond. 1658. Probt, vita Patricii (iJerfae Venerab. opp.) Conf. tGreith, 
Hist, of the Old Irish Church, Freiburg, 1867. GHldae Badonici (500-580) da 
exoidio Britanniae lib. querulus, ed. Gale, Oxon. 1691. Columbae vita by Adam- 
nan {Camsii lectt. antiq., T. I., p. 675-708, and by Cummineus; Mabillon, acta 
SS. ord. St. Bened., T. I.) Beda Venerab.. h. e. Anglorum, ed. Smith, ed. Giles. 
See above, Vol. I., p. 40, note 1. Usseril, Britannicar. eccl. antiquitates (Dublin, 
1639, 4to) London, 1687, fol. Lingard, Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Churcb, 
Newcastle, 1806, 2 T., transl. into German, and ed. by Rilter, Breslau, 1847 
(being a complete English Ch. H. down to the Eestoration under Dunstan, in 
the tenth century). The same, Hist, of England, 10 vols. 1825. Kemble, The 
Saxons in England, transl. into German by Brandes, Lps. 1853, 2 vols. Walter, 
Ancient Wales, Bonn, 1859. John Lanlgan, Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, 
2d ed., Dublin, 1829, 4 vols. "tThomas Moore, Hist, of Ireland, Paris, 1835, c. 
9-13; German by Klee, Mentz, 1836. Hist, of Ireland, by Cusaeh, Nun of Ken. 
mare, 1867. Cotton, Easti eccl. Hibern., 5 vols., Dublin, 1845-1860 Collter, 
Political and Eocl. Hist, of Ireland. Ebrard, The Culdean Church of *-,be sixth, 
seventh, and eighth centuries, in Niedner's Journal of Hist. Theol. 1862 xnd 1863. 
The same, Ch. H. II. 393 sq. '^Schwab, Studies on Ch. H. by a Epf. T'heol. 
(against Ebrard) Austr. Quart, for Theol. 1868, 1. tSchrodl, IntroductJ"i> of 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 51 

Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons, Passau, 1840. Cf. thereon, Tiib. Quart. 
1840, p. 664 sq. ' Monialemberi, The Monks of the West, Amer. ed. -tZell, 
Lioba and the pious Anglo-Saxon Women, Preibg. 1860. Wasserschleben, The 
Penitentiary Discipline of the Western Church, Halle, 1851 (that of Theodor 
of Canterbury, pp. 13-37, 145-219). 

The traditions which assert that Christianity had been 
preached in Britain by either James the Elder, Simon the 
Zelot. or the apostle St. Peter, have long since been given up 
as nnte»<able. The efforts of Anglican theologians in these 
latter days to establish the apostolic origin of their episco- 
pacy, by attempting to prove that St. Paul was the fotinder 
of the Church in Britain,^ have been entirely fruitless. It 
is certain, however, that Christianity was preached in the 
Island^ at a very early date, and that many Britons suffered 
martyrdom, during the persecution of Diocletian,' rather than 
give up their faith. 

It is also certain that Christianity had been preached in 
Ireland before Palladius reached its shores. Nor is it difficult 
to account for the fact. It is well known that an active com- 
mercial intercourse existed between Ireland and Gaul at this 
period, and that the ports of Ireland were more frequented 
than those of Britain by foreign merchants. JSTeither was 
it an unusual thing for the Irish of those days to make pred- 
atory descents upon the coast of Caul, and to carry away 
captives many of the Christian inhabitants of that country. 
Either of these circumstances will satisfactorily account for 
the existence of Christianity in the island previously to the 
coming of Palladius. Pope Celestine, having been informed 
of the fact, consecrated Palladius, then a Roman deacon, and 
sent him into Ireland, in the year 431 ; and. as has been said, 
the latter on his arrival found many Christian communities^ 
already existing in the island. Great hopes were entertained 



' Traditions of the Ancient British church, Bonn Periodical, n. 15, p. 88 sq., 
and New Series, 8d year, nro. 3, p. 174 sq. 

^Vol. I., p.252. 

^ Beda Venerab. h. e. I. 4. Conf. c. 17 and 21. Ldngard, Hist, of Engl. Ger- 
man by Sails, Vol. I., ch. 1. 

*"Ad Scotos in Christum credentes ordinatus a Papa Caelestino Palladius 
primus episoopus mittitur." Prosperi Chron. ad annum 431. 



52 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

of this mission ;^ but, as Palladios was entirely ignorant of 
the country, and lacking in the courage and perseverance so 
necessary to the success of great enterprises, they were never 
realized. To undertake so arduous a mission with any reason- 
able hope of ultimately achieving success required a special 
training and a thorough kn(iw|edge of the people, such as by 
extraordinary circumstances were placed within the reach of 
St. Patrick, the true apostle of Ireland. St. Patrick (Patricius) 
was born a. d. 387, according to his own account, at Bonavem 
Taverniae ; that is, at Boulogne, on the coast of Picardy,^ 
then called Armorica. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon; 
his grandfather, Potitus, a priest; and his mother, Conchessa, 
^s said to have been a near relative of St. Martin of Tours. 
At the age of sixteen he was carried away captive to Ireland 
by some Irish pirates who had made a descent upon the coast 
of Gaul. Having arrived in Ireland, be was sold into slavery, 
and set to tend flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Here 
abandoned by all, and left to his own thoughts, he felt the 
want and experienced the power and sweetness of prayer. 
At the end of six years, a voice from Heaven commanded 
him to make his way to a certain port, where he would find 
a vessel in readiness to carry him to his own country. 

After his arrival in Gaul, he went to Tours, where he spent 
four years at the school of St. Martin, laying up those stores 
of knowledge, and sinking deep and wide that foundation of 
virtue, of which in after years he stood in so much need. 
From Tours he went to spend a short time with his parents, 
and, while at his father's house, had a dream in which he be- 
held the Irish people calling out to him, from beyond the sea, 
to come and pass the remainder of his days in their midst. 

•"Ordinato Scotis episcopo, dum Romanam insulam (Britanniam) studet ser- 
vare Catholioam, fecit etiam barbaram Christianam." 

2 Not at KilpatricJc, in Northumberland, Britain, as it has been generally 
supposed since the time of Usher. Bonavem, in the Celtic language, is the Latin 
Bononia, and the adjunct Taverniae designates the reglo Tarbannensis (Tai'abanna, 
or Tarvenna, the same as Terouanne), where Bononia was situated. See Lani- 
gan, 1, 93. If St. Patrick is frequently called a Briton (Britannus), we are not 
to suppose that it is intended to signify that he was a native of the British 
island, for the inhabitants of the country round Boulogne were called Britanni 
as early as the days of Pliny. Bellinger, Ch. H., VoL II., p. 20. 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 53 

This he interpreted as a call from God, but did not imme- 
diately answer it. In the year 418, he paid a visit to St. Ger- 
manus, who had been lately consecrated bishop of Auxerre, 
by whose advice he went, probably to the famous school of 
the Island of Lerins, to further perfect himself in knowledge 
and virtue. Leaving this cloister, he returned to St. Ger- 
manus, who probably still continued to be his master in the 
spiritual life, and at his recommendation visited Rome, in the 
year 431, in the company of a pi'iest, whom the bishop sent 
with him to bear witness to his great excellence.' Here he 
I'eeeived a commission to preach the Gospel to the Irish peo- 
ple, and, with Pope Celestine's benediction upon him, set out 
for his distant mission. On his way through Gaul, he heard 
of the death of Palladius, and was consecrated in his etead 
by Amator, Bishop of Evreux [Ebroicum). Pie set sail from 
the shores of Gaul with a few companions, among whom 
Auxilius and Isserinus appear to have been the most con- 
spicuous, and landed in Ireland, a. d. 432. 

The inhabitants of the island, when St. Patrick landed on 
its shores, were given to the worship of stars, and adored 
fountains. It does not seem that the use of idols was general 
among them ; and if they sometimes repi-esented their gods 
under material forms, these were no more than blocks of stone 
rudely sculptured into tigures. Mountains and hills were the 
sanctuaries of their gods, and here they met for purposes of 
worship. 

The inhabitants of the country were divided into two dis- 
tinct classes, one of which embraced the aborigines, who, as 
the ancient traditions of the country state, were Milesians, 
and had come from Gallicia (Iberia) ; the other embraced the 
Scots (Scythae?), who had more recently come into the coun- 

' The journey of St. Patrick to Eome is mentioned not only by Probus and 
other biographers, but also by Hertcus, Vita S. Germ. I. 12 (in Actis SS. Julii, 
T. VII.) Hericus, however, wrote about the year 860. But as the Book of 
Ar:aagh, and the Life of St. Patrick, contained therein, were written by the 
Blessed Aidan, of Sletty, who died in 698, we have an authority for his journey 
in the seventh century. The silence of the Confession, in which St. Patrick 
relates only those circumstances in which he beheld an especial Divine Provi- 
dence, can not be adduced as an authority against this journey. DoUinger, 1. 1. 
p. 21. 



54 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 



try, had subdued the old possessors of the soil, and now held 
them in subjection.^ 

Easter Sunday is a memorable day in the history of Ire- 
land. It was forbidden to light a fire on Easter Saturday 
until after the flames of that lighted in honor of Baal, the 
sun god,^ should have appeared from the hill of Tara. St. 
Patrick, disregarding the injunction, lighted the Easter-fire 
on Saturday, and King Laeghaire (Leogaire), indignant at 
this bold violation of a religious custom, went out in person, 
accompanied by his Druids, to learn who the strangers were, 
and what was their mission. A discussion was arranged be- 
tween St. Patrick and the Druids, to take place on the fol- 
lowing day, at Tara. That morning, St. Patrick and his 
companions set out on their way, chanting hymns as they 
went along. Arrived at Tara, our Saint explained the faith 
of Christ with the eloquence, earnestness, and simplicity char- 
acteristic of apostolic men. His words were listened to with 
respect and attention, and so potent was their influence that 
Dubtach, the chief poet and Druid of the king, was converted. 
Conall Creevan, a brother of the king, was among the first 
disciples of Patrick. Patrick also conciliated the good-will 
and effected the conversion of many young men of the higher 
classes, who subsequently shared his apostolic labors. Many 
young maidens, also, led captive by the chaste beauty of the 
doctrine St. Patrick preached, dedicated their virginity to 
God, and embraced an ascetic life. They were frequently op- 
posed in their good purposes by their parents, but the only 
effect of such opposition was to strengthen their resolution 
and add to their numbers.' St. Patrick Went to Connaught, 

1 St. Patrick calls the great body of the original natives Hibertonaces, for Ire- 
land in his writings is named Hibertone. Not only numbers of these, but many 
also of the ruling class, had, he says, in his Confessio7is, become Christians. Ddl- 
linger, 1. 1., p. 22. 
2 See Life of St. Patrick, by M. F. Cusac/;, p. 253 et seq. (Tr.) 
3 Filii Scotorum et filiae regulorum monaohi et virgines Christ! esse videntur. 
In the letter against Coroticus, written before the Confessions, these Scots are 
spoken of as persecutors of the Christians. It was not until about eighty or 
ninety years from this period that the appellation of "ScoAs" was given in com- 
mon to all the Irish, and that the island was known by the name of " Scotia." 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 55 

where he remained seven years. During his stay in this 
province his labo.a were blessed by the most remarkable and 
numerous conversion of his missionary life. As he was ajD- 
proacbing the land of Tirawley, he learned that a great mul- 
titude were assembled to celebrate a festival in honor of the 
seven sons of King Amalgaidh, who had lately died. Ad- 
vancing into the midst of the assembled claii, he preached 
the doctrine of Christ, and laid open its truths with such 
force and lucidity that seven princes and twelve thousand 
of the people^ received the faith and were baptized by Pat- 
rick at the fountain of Enardhae. 

After the year 439, Secundinus, Auxilius, and Isserinus, 
whom St. Patrick had sent to either Britain or Gaul to receive 
episcopal consecration, shared his missionary labors. 

In the year 455, toward the end of his life, St. Patrick re- 
ceived from a wealthy chief by the name of Daire^ a tract of 
land, for the erection of a cathedral, on a hill in the neigh- 
borhood of the residence of the kings of Ulster. The dis- 
trict itself was called Macha, and aroand the cathedral a 
town rapidly sprang up, known as Ard-Macha, the present 
Armagh, which became the ecclesiastical metropolisof Ireland. 

Years before (a. d. 432-3) Patrick had founded the monas- 
tery of Saul on a tract of land which had been given to him 
by Dichu, and between this famous retreat and the see of 
Armagh he spent the remaining days of his laborious life. 
After he had once set foot in Ireland as a missionary, he never 
again thought of returning to his native land. To one so 
earnest in the performance of his duties, and so sensitive of 
the responsibility which rested upon him, such thoughts would 
have been associated with a dread of disobeying the will of 
Christ, who had set him over the Irish Church, and com- 
manded him to remain with the Irish people all the days of 
his life.^ 



The present Scotland was not so called before the eleventh century. Dollinger, 
in 1. c, p. 23. 

' Life of St. Patrick, by Miss Cusack, p. 296 et seq. Userii Antiquitates, ed. 
Dublin, p. 865. (Te.) 

'Book of Armagh, fol. 6, b. a. 

"Confessions, p. 17. 



56 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 



Shortly after the erection of the cathedral of Armagh, Pat- 
rick, together with Auxilius and Isserinus, held a synod, in 
which many useful statutes were enacted for the government 
and direction of the infant Church. 

To show the sentiments entertained by St. Patrick and the 
early Irish Church toward the Holy See, it will be sufficient 
to quote one of the Canons of St. Patrick, which even Usher^ 
who has translated them, admits to be genuine : " Whenever 
any cause that is very difiicult, and unknown to all the judges 
of the Scottish nation, shall arise, it is rightly to be referred 
to the see of the archbishop of the Irish (that is, of Patrick), 
and to the examination of the prelate thereof. But if there, 
by him and his wise men, a cause of this nature can not easily 
be made up, we have decreed it shall be sent to the See Apos- 
tolic — that is, to the chair of the Apostle Peter — which hath 
the authority of the city of Eome."^ 

The only letter extant written by St. Patrick is the well- 
known one against Coroticus, a British chief, who had made 
a descent upon the Irish coast, and carried away captive many 
Christians baptized by the Saint himself. This act very nat- 
urally caused him great pain, and he wrote in consequence a 
circular letter, containing a sentence of excommunication 
against Coroticus, which he ordered all the priests to read to 
their people, even in the presence of the chief. 

Our Saint, conscious that his life and labors were now draw- 
ing to a close, withdrew to the monastery of Saul, where he 
probably wrote his Confessions. In these he tells us that he 
had visited every corner of the island, and had everywhere 
ordained priests, and that the great bulk of the people were 
Christians. 

At this monastery, the first of his founding, the retreat he 
loved so well, and into which he was accustomed to retire, 
when worn with the fatigues of missionary labor, to spend a 
few days alone with his God, St. Patrick breathed his last, 
March 17, a. d. 465. 

He was succeeded in the See of Armagh by Benignus, 
whose father, Seschnan, had kept St. Patrick over night 

1 History of Ireland, by Miss Ousack, p. 79. (Te.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 57 

when this latter was on his way to Tara, and who, as a re- 
ward for his hospitality, obtained for himself and his whole 
family the grace of faith .^ 

The effects of St. Patrick's zeal and prudence were soon 
visible. Cloister-schools, under the direction of the bishops, 
ware soon to be found in great numbers all over the island, 
and rapidly grew into famous seats of learning. Toward the 
close of the lifth ceuturj^, St. Bridget introduced into Ireland 
a rule for nuns, and founded many convents throughout the 
country, the most famous of which was that of Kildare (a. d. 
490). There can be no better evidence of the energy, pru- 
dence, and zeal of St. Patrick, and those who took up his 
work after him, and of the docility, earnestness, and gener- 
osity of the Irish people, than the fact, that, in the course 
of the sixth century, the Gospel had spread from one end of 
the island to the other, from hamlet to city, and from palace 
to cottage. Muehertach, the chief king, who reigned from 
513 to 533, openly professed Christianity, and multitudes of 
men, of all classes and of every age, forsook the world to 
follow Christ. The face of the whole island was changed. 
A nation that but a few short years before had been shrouded 
in the darkness of paganism, was suddenly illumined by the 
pure I'ays of Divine truth. Churches and chapels, monaster- 
ies and convents, schools and colleges, covered the land, and 
from hill and valley one song of thanksgiving went up to the 
tlirone of God. And thus Erin became the Island of Saints,^ 



1 BoUand. Acta Sanctorum, mensis Martii, Tom. II., p. 517; mensis Feb. Tom. 
III., pp. 131, 179. 

^The Anglican bishop, Usher, who died 1665, found and published a most 
remarkable Catalogue of Irish Saints, wliich was compiled, probably, about the 
end of the seventh or the beginning of the eighth century. In it, the Irish 
saints are ranged in three classes, according to the ages in which they lived. 
The first class is of those who lived from the coming of St. Patrick, 432, to the 
year 542, and to it belong three hundred and fifty bishops (mostly cltorepiscopi, 
or coum!!r!/-bishops) and founders of churches, "for all the Irish bishops were 
then holy, and filled with the spirit of God." Of the second class of saints, 
which comprehends those who lived from 542 fo 598, and which comprises 
three hundred persons, the smaller number is of bishops, the greater of priests, 
probably abbots and monks, as during this epocli the monasteries of Ireland 
flourished in all their splendor. The third class of saints consists of priests 
and of a few bishops, in number about one hundred persons. They lived from 



58 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 1. 

the home and refnge of learning and holiness, and the nursery 
whence missionaries went forth to carry the light of faith to 
thr rations of the European continent. Her seats of learn- 
ing, her monasteries and nunneries, and her charitable insti- 
tutions were unsurpassed, either in number or excellence, by 
those of any nation of the world. Her children preserved 
the faith of Christ as pure and entire as it came from the lips 
of her apostle; heresy and schism were unknown to them; 
and loyalty to the successor of St. Peter was one of their 
most distinguishing characteristics.^ They have remained 
faithful and attached to the Supreme Head of the Church, 
with unvarying uniformity, amid everj- vicissitude of fortune, 
from the days of St. Patrick to our own ; and there is every 
indication that their fidelity to the Vicar of Christ will be as 
unbroken and cordial in the future as it has been in the past. 

The northern portion of the country now known as Scot- 
land (Caledonia) was inhabited at this period by the Caledo- 
nians, like the Irish, either a Gallic or Celtic tribe ; the south- 
ern portion, or that which lies between the Prith of Forth 
and the Grampian Hills, by the Picts, who had come from 
Scandinavia. 

Bishop Mnian, a native of Britain, who had been educated 
in Eome, converted the Picts to Christianity in the year 412. 
The Caledonians, or, as they are sometimes called, the North- 
ern Picts, were converted by St. Columba, or Columbkill,^ who 
commenced his missionary life among them about one hun- 
dred and fifty years later. 

This remarkable man, who belonged to the royal houses of 

605 to 665. See Userit Britan. eccles. antiquitates, p. 913 sq. Conf. Bollinger, 
Manual of Ch. H., Vol. I., Pt. II,, p. 188-191; Engl, transl., Vol. Ii:, p. 32-34. 

1 St. Columbanus thus describes the Irish Church in his Epistle to Pope Boniface 
IV., in 613 (Bihlioth. PP. Max. 511. 28). In like manner speaks Cummian, a 
countryman and contemporary of St. Columbanus ( Ussertl Vot. Epist. Hib. Syl- 
loge, Paris, 1669). 

2 St. Columba, like many of the Irish saints, borrowed from the Latin a sym- 
bolical name, signifying Dove of tJie Holy Ghost, a title which he merited by the 
remarkable purity of his life. He is also called Columb-Kill, or Cille— that is, 
Dove of ihe Cell; and is sometimes confounded with his countryman Columbanus, 
the celebrated founder of Luxeuil. His name originally was Crtmihan. Beda, 
Ecol. Hist., V. 10. Montalembert, Monks of the "West, Bk. IX., chap. I. (Te.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 59 

Ireland, was born at Gartan, in the county of Donegal, De- 
cember 7, A. D. 521, and was educated in the famous school 
of St. Fininan of Maghbile, who had himself studied at Eome. 
Before Colnmba had reached his twenty-fifth year, he had 
founded a great number of monasteries in Ireland, the most 
celebrated of which was that of Derry, in his own native 
province, which was long the seat of a great Catholic bish- 
opric, and is now known under the modern name of London- 
derry.^ He had received deacon's orders from St. Finnian, 
and in the year 550 was raised to the priesthood, but his hu- 
mility was such that he would never consent to take upon 
him the episcopal office and dignity. 

In the year 563, when in the fortj^-second year of his age, 
Columba set out from his native land, accompanied by twelve 
companions, and, in one of those large osier boats, covered 
with, hide, which the Celtic nations used for purposes of naviga- 
tion, sailed to the north, and landed on the shores of the island 
of lona, or Hy, to which, in memory of the Saint, the name 
of Hy-Columbkill was afterward given. He and his com- 
panions immediately set about building a monastery, which 
was of the rudest description, consisting only of a frame cov- 
ered with the interlaced branches of trees. It was not till 
some years later that a more substantial edifice was erected, 
with much danger and labor, as the large oaks to be used in 
its construction were brought across the waters from the neigh- 
boring shores. Such was the humble beginning of the great 
monastic center whence issued those devoted heroes who car- 
ried the blessings of religion and civilization to Scotland and 
Great Britain. ISTew communities went forth from the mother 
house of lona, and established themselves among the ISTorth- 
ern and Southern Picts, and even in our day the remains of 
fifty-three churches, to which, according to the custom of that 
age, monasteries were attached, have been discovered in both 
those districts, all dating back to the time of St. Columba.^ 

God deigned to give the Divine sanction to the mission 
of this great saint by granting him the grace of miracles. 



1 Ibid., Vol. II., pp. 9 et seq. (Te.) 

2 Monks of the West, Vol. II., Book IX., chap. III. (Tr.) 



60 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1, Chapter 1. 

Purity of life and humility were his two distinguishing 
virtues. 

In the year 590, Columba returned to Ireland, and, while 
there, assisted at the national assembly, or parliament, held 
at Drumceitt, or Drurakeath, in which King Aedh proposed 
the abolition of the order of bards. These were at once the 
historians, genealogists, poets, and musicians of Ireland. They 
preserved in verse and rich poetic imagery the traditions of 
the past, and celebrated the triumphs and glories of the chiefs 
in whose age they lived. The graceful charm which they 
threw abo"t the legendary history of Erin, and the stirring 
notes in which they sang her victories in war, invested them 
with a sacred character in the eyes of the lower classes, and 
made them all-powerful and highly respected with the nobles. 
They, however, sometimes abused both their influence and 
their gift, exciting the violent hatred of some by the satire of 
their verse, and of others by the insolence of their behavior. 

When Columba visited Ireland, King Aedh had resolved to 
banish, or, as others say, to put to the sword, this obnoxious 
class of men, but the former pleaded so eloquently and so 
persistently in their favor that they were let ofl:" with a restric- 
tion of their foi'mer privileges.^ 

Columba, in virtue of his privileges as founder of the 
Church in both JSTorthern and Southern Scotland, exercised 
ecclesiastic jurisdiction throughout both of these countries, 
and, out of respect to his memory, this prerogative was con- 
ceded to many of his successors, though these were only 
priests.^ This jurisdiction was not, however, exercised by 
them as priests, but as abbots or generals of their order.^ 

This distinguished apostle of Great Britain, after a long 
and laborious life, died as he had lived. After going over all 
the island and taking a tender farewell of the monks at work 

1 Monks of the West, 1. c. (Tr.) 

2 " Habere autem solet ipsa insula ( Hy) reotorem semper abbatem presbytorum, 
cujus juri et omnis ■provincia et ipsi etiam episcopi, ordine inusitato, debeant esse 
subjecti, juxta exemplum prirai dootoris illius (Columbae) qui non episcopus, 
Bed presbyter extitit et monachus. Bede, Hist. Eool. III. 4. 

5 "In quibus omnibus idem monasterium Insulanum (Hy) in quo ipse (St, 
Golumba) requiescit corpore principatum tenet." Bede h. e. III. 4. 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 61 

in the fields, iind prayiug in the cloisters, he withdrew to his 
own cell, and, when the bell rang at midnight for matins, rose 
and preceded his brethren to the church. Here he was found, 
by his faithfal children, prostrate before the altar, and in a 
dying condition. Raising his right hand, he blessed the com- 
munity and expired, June 9, 597.-' 

In the fourth century, the bulk of the inhabitants of Brit- 
ain had already been converted to Christianity. But the 
Britons, no longer protected by the power of Rome, and un- 
able to defend themselves against the Picts and Scots, who 
seized every opportunity to make incursions into their coun- 
try, sought aid elsewhere. It happened that, at this time, a 
Saxon squadron was cruising in the British channel, in quefit 
of adventure, under the command of the two brothers, Heiv- 
gist and Horsa. Vortigern, the most important of the petty 
kings who held sway in the island, invited the strangers to 
enter into an alliance with him, and to trust to his generosity 
for their reward (a. d. 449). Having obtained a footing, the 
Saxons conducted themselves as conquerors rather than allies, 
driving tire Christians into the remote western parts of the 
island, and destroying their churches. To add to the misfor- 
tune of these persecuted Christians, their clergy had become 
so degenerate as to be incapable either of inspiring them with 
sentiments of patriotic devotion and brave resistance, or of 
soothing the pain of their humiliation by the consolations of 
religion.^' Oppression produced its usual efiects upon them. 

1 Monks of the West, 1. c. 

^The Epist. Gildae Sapientis, who wrote in the beginning of the sixth century, 
contains a very severe account of the degenerate condition of both the clergy 
and laity of this period. (In Gale, Scriptores Historiae Britann., Oxon. 1G91, 
fol. Tom. I. et Max. Biblioth. Tom. VIII., p. 715. Galland. Tom. XII., p. 189.) 

Melancholy is the contrast, says Ddlllnger, with the flourishing condition ot 
the Irish Church, that is presented to us by the state of decay and oppression 
in which, at this period, we find the Church of Britain. The devout Gildas has 
left to us a strongly colored picture of the degeneracy and corruption of the 
people, and of the disgraceful lives of the clergy in the first half of the sixth 
century. . . . Severe, but not unmerited, was the judgment that was inflicted 
upon the Britons and their Church, etc. Ch. Hist. Eng. transL, Vol. II., pp. 
33, 36. Still, Abbe Darras (Vol. II., p. 104) applies the title of Isle of Saints 
to England as well as to Ireland during this age, and speaks of "the glorious 
name bequeathed to England by the Christians of the sixth century." (Tk.) 



62 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

Deprived by their conquerors of the civilizing influences of 
Christian institutions, and entertaining a deep and vindictive 
spirit of hatred against their treacherous allies, they so far 
lost the spirit of the Gospel that they never showed the slight- 
est disposition to make a pacific and glorious conquest of 
their oppressors by converting them to the religion of Christ. 

The conquerors of Britain, after having driven the ancient 
inhabitants of the island into the wild mountains of the west, 
formed themselves into a heptarchy, or seven independentking- 
doms of unequal extent and influeoce, under the general di- 
rection of a Bretwalda, or chief king, who exercised a sort of 
suzerainty over all. His authority, however, was nominal 
rather than real, and the petty kingdoms were not, as the 
name heptarchy implies, always of uniform number. Almost 
every trace of Christianity disappeared from those portions 
of the country occupied by the Anglo-Saxons, and a rude 
idolatry, possessing none of the graceful features or compara- 
tive purity which characterized the worship of the ancient 
Celts, was substituted in its stead. The petty kings, having 
no longer anything to fear from the enmity of the Britons, 
and possessing no bond of union other than that derived 
from common interests and the instinct of self-preservation, 
began now to make war upon each other. It is difficult to 
say what might have been the condition of Britain had not 
a fortunate circumstance, which occurred at this time, brought 
the idolatrous inhabitants of that country under the notice 
of a man whose true Catholic heart embraced all nations in its 
wide charity, and who finally succeeded in bringing the Anglo- 
Saxons under the sweet yoke of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This was Gregory the Great, who, while yet a monk, as he 
was one day passing through the forum at Rome, was struck 
by the fair complexion and radiant beauty of some Anglo- 
Saxon youths there exposed for sale, and learning that they 
and their people were idolaters, grieved that the souls of per- 
sons so handsome without should be disfigured by so much 
deformity within.' He at once conceived the desire of going 

1 " What evil luck," said Gregory, " tlaat the Prince of Darkness should possess 
beings with aspect so radiant, and that the grace of these countenances should 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 63 

himself as a missionary into their country to announce the 
Gospel of Jesus Christ to those poor people; but the Romans, 
who greatly esteemed him for his many virtues, would not 
hear of his departure from their midst. But, though not 
permitted himself to undertake so arduous and glorious a 
mission, the project was always dear to his heart, and he re- 
solved, if God should ever give him the means, to carry it 
into execution. Having been elevated to the dignity of Su- 
preme Pontifi', he purchased some of those fair Saxon slaves, 
placed them in monastic schools, and had them educated in 
the doctrines of the Chiistian religion. But the great Pope 
did not rest here. In the year 595, he resolved to send mis- 
sionaries into Britain, and selected for the leader of this dif- 
ficult mission the monk Augustine, then abbot of the monas- 
tery at Home which now bears the name of St. Gregory,^and 
is situated on the western angle of Mount Coelius. From 
this monastery, around which cluster so many beautiful and 
touching traditions, Augustine set forth on his distant mis- 
sion, accompanied by forty monks of his own community.^ 
On their way they visited the island of Lerins, and, while 
there, learned that it was next to impossible to acquire a 
knowledge of the language of the Anglo-Saxons; that the 
people themselves were barbarous and ferocious ; that it 
would be hopeless to attempt their conversion to the mild 
and humane law of the Gospel, and that those who should be 
foolhardy enough to persist in so wild a dream would expose 
themselves to certain destruction. Frightened by these re- 
ports, the companions of Augustine persuaded him to return 
to Rome and represent to Pope Gregory the perils and use- 



reflect a soul void of inward grace ! But what nation are they of?" "They 
are Angles." "They are well named, for these Angles have the faces of angels, 
and they must become the brethren of angels in heaven. From what province 
have they been brought?" "From Deira" (one of the two kingdoms of Nor- 
thumbria). "Still good," answered he. "Deira eruti — they shall be fnatfihod 
from the anger of God to the mercy of Christ. And how name they the king 
of their country?" "Alle or ^lla." "So be it; he is right well named, for- 
they shall soon sing Alleluia in his kingdom." Monks of the West, Vol. II., 
p. 145. (Tk.) 

1 Wot fourteen, as stated in DSllinger's Ch. Hist., Vol. II., p. 39. Cf. Palma, 
Praelectiones H. E., Vol. II., p. 423. (Tk.) 

''Now the titular church of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Henry 
Ed. Manning. 



64 Period 2. Epoch 1. Parti. Chapter 1. 

lessness of such a journey. The Pope, however, would not 
hear of the undertaking being abandoned, told Augustine it 
were better not to have entered upon the work at all than 
give it up, once it had been commenced; and, giving him and 
liis mission the apostolic blessing, again sent him " forward 
in Grod's name." The Pope also gave Augustine letters to 
the Abbot of Lerins, to the Bishop of Aix, and to the gov- 
ernors of provinces, thanking them for their past services to 
the missionaries; and to the bishops of Tours, Vienne, and 
Autun, and to Virgilius, metropolitan of Aries, recommend- 
ing Augustine and his companions to their kind ofSces. He 
also wrote to the two young kings of Austrasia and Bur- 
gundy, and to their mother, Bruneliaut, who reigned in their 
name over Eastern France, explaining the object of the mis- 
sion, and begging that they would send interpreters to accom- 
pany the missionaries to Britain, and provide a royal safe- 
conduct to insure their safety while journeying through Gaul. 

Thus protected, Augustine and his comrades crossed Frank- 
ish Gaul, and after a short voyage landed, in the year 597, on 
the Isle of Thanet, where, a century and a half before, the two 
brothers, Hengist and Horsa, first touched the British shores, 
and where, nearly six centuries and a half before, the terri- 
ble legions of Caesar disembarked to reduce this distant 
island to a province of the Roman Empire. 

Ethelhert — that is, the noble and valiant — the reigning king 
of Kent, who had been recognized Pretvmlda, or chief-kiug, 
by the other princes of the heptarchy, had married Bertha, 
the daughter of Caribert, king of the Franks of Paris. This 
princess, being a Christian, had been aflianeed to Ethelhert 
only on condition that she should be permitted to observe the 
practices of her religion. She brought with her as spiritual 
adviser, from her native coimtvy , Luidhard, a Christian bishop, 
who practiced the offices of his religion in an old Catholic 
church of the Roman times, situated near Canterbury, which 
had escaped destruction at the hands of the Barbarians. King 
Ethelhert, having taken a few days to deliberate on the course 
to be pursued with regard to the missionaries, paid them a 
visit on the island where they had landed, and, having seated 
himself on an oak stump, listened to their address, and learned 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 65 

their intentions, informed them, that, as they were strangers 
to him, he could not at once give np the belief of his fathers 
and of his nation, but assured them that, since they evidently 
believed what they said, they should be hospitably enter- 
tained, and might go through his kingdom, preaching and 
converting whom thej^ could.' 

He also gave them the old Roman church^ at Dorovernum 
(Canterbury = Kent- war-bury, that is, the borough of the 
men of Kent). This church was dedicated to St. Martin, and 
thither Augustine and his monks repaired to celebrate Mass, 
chant the divine office, and perform other offices of the min- 
istry. 

King Ethelbert, charmed by the holiness of their lives, and 
won by the purity of their doctrine, asked and obtained per- 
mission to enter the church, and was baptized by St. Augus- 
tine on the Feast of Pentecost, a. d. 597. 

The example of the king had a very salutary effect upon 
his countrymen, and on the following Christmas, a. b. 597, ten 
thousand of them were received into the Church. They were 
baptized in the Thames, at the mouth of the Medway, oppo- 
site the Isle of Sheppey.' Pope Gregory, in writing to Augus- 
tine, to Eulogius (Patriarch of Alexandria), and to Bertha 
(Ethelbert's queen),expressedthegreat joy which these events 
gave him. In the meantime, Augustine had, by order of the 
Pope, gone to Gaul, where he was consecrated Archbishop of 
the Anglo-Saxons by Virgilius, the former Abbot of Lerins 
and now Metropolitan of Aries, on the same day on which 
the ten thousand were baptized in the Thames. 

Gregory, on receiving the glad tidings of these successes in 
Britain, immediately sent out a fresh colony of monks, who 
carried with them relics, vestments, sacred vessels, altar fur- 



1 Monks of the West, Vol. II., p. 154. (Tr.) 

''The present Church," says Count Montalembert (Monks of the "West, Vol. 
II., p. 155), "rebuilt in the thirteenth century, occupies the place of that which 
is forever consecrated by the double memory of Bertha and Augustine, the 
Archbishop. The baptismal fonts are shown there, in which, according to 
tradition. King Ethelbert was baptized by immersion." (Tk.) 

s Palma, Praeleotiones H. E., Vol. I., p. 423. St. Greg. Bpist. VIII. 30. Dean 
Stanlei/s Memorials of Canterbury, p. 19. (Tr.) 
VOL. II — 5 



66 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

niture, and a stock of books destined to form the beginning 
of an ecclesiastical library.^ Of these, the most conspicuous 
were Mellitus and Justus, who succeeded each other, on the 
death of Lawrence, in the metropolitan see of Canterbury, 
and Paulinus, the apostle of I^orthumbria. The Pope also 
authorized Augustine to establish twelve episcopal sees in 
Southern Britain; and gave him permission to appoint whom 
he would metropolitan of the ancient Roman city of York 
(Eboracum), as soon as the faith should have spread to North- 
ern Britain. This see was also to have twelve suffragan bish- 
ops, all of whom, with the metropolitan of Tork, were to be 
subject to the Archbishop of Canterbury during the lifetime 
of Augustine.^ 

The instructions of Gregory with regard to the disposition 
to be made of Pagan temples are marked by that prudent 
moderation which always distinguished him. He gave orders 
that these should not be demolished, but that, as soon as the 
inhabitants of those districts in whrch they were situated, 
should have embraced Christianity, they should be cleansed 
with holy water, and altars, containing the relics of saints, 
constructed and placed in them, that they might thus be 
converted into sanctuaries of the true God. 

It was customary with the Anglo-Saxons to commence their 
worship and their sports with plentiful feasts, and while it 
was thought prudent that these should not be abolished, it 
was at the same time deemed absolutely necessary that their 
meaning and import should be changed, and that, instead of 
a Pagan, they should bear a Christian significance. In order 
to this, they were appointed to take place on such festivals of 
the Church as would be at once occasions of rejoicing, and 
memorials of events distinctively Christian. Such were the 
festivals of Church-dedication, and the annual commemora- 
tion of martyrs whose bones reposed under the altars of the 
various churches throughout the country.' 

1 " Neo non et codices plurimos." Bede, I. 29. An old catalogue of the first 
consignment of books ends with these words : " This is the origin of the librsvry of 
the whole English Church," a. d. 601. Monies of the West, Vol. II., p. 164. (Te.) 

^Bpist. 65, tit. 11, ad Augustinum. (Te.) 

8 St. Augustine had sent a messenger to Rome to confer with the Pope on 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 67 

St. Angnstine went to his eternal reward, May 12, a. d. 
605, just two months after the death ot Pope Gregory 
th^ Great, by whom he had been sent into England. Pre- 
viously to his death, Augustine had chosen Lawrence, one 
of his companions, to succeed him in the primatial see of 
Canterbury, and had had him consecrated for that ofKco, 
thus wisely providing for any i^ossible contingency in the 
infant church of Britain. The choice did great honor 
to Augustine, for Lawrence was equally distinguished by 
unremitting zeal in missionary labor and spotless integrity 
of life. 

If little or no difficulty had been experienced in bringing 
the Cliief-King, or Bretwalda, to embrace Christianity, it was 
quite otherwise with the remaining princes of the heptarchy, 
with jjerhaps one exception. This was Saberet, a nephew of 
Ethelbert, and king of the neighboring kingdom of Essex. 
He received the monks with kindness, and was himself bap- 
tized by Mellitus, one of the new missionaries sent by Greg- 
ory, and who became bisliop of London, A. d. 604. This, the 
chief city of the East Saxons, was at that early day a flour- 
ishing and populous place. King Ethelbert built for Mel- 
litus the catliedral of St. Paul, and authorized the erection 
of a second bishopric in his own kingdom of Kent, at the 
Roman city of Eoehester, twenty miles west of Canter- 



tdese important matters, and the instructions received by liim are given in 
Greij. M. Epistolar., lib. XI., nros. 28 sq. opp. ed. Benedict., T. II., p. 110 sq.; in 
Beda Venerab. opp. 1. c; and at length in the letter to Mellitus, Bishop of Lon- 
don, opp. T. II., p. 1175. Cf. also note h of the Benedictine edition: "Dicito 
et (Augustino) quid diu mecum de causa Anglorum cogitans tractavi: videlicet 
quia fana idolorum destrui in eadem gente minime debcant; sed ipsa, quae in 
eia sunt idola, destruantur; aqua benedicta fiat, in eisdem fanis aspergatur, 
altaria construantur, reliquiae ponantur; quia si fana eadem bone constructa 
sunt, necesse est, ut a cultu daemonum in obsequium veri Dei debeant mutari." 
Cf. also lib. XI., ep. 64 ; " Placet mihi, ut sive in Romana ecclesia sive in Gal- 
licarum sive in qualibet ecclesia aliquid invenisti, quod plus omnipotenti Deo 
possit placere, sollicite eligas et in Anglorum ecclesia, quae adhuc in fide 
nova est, institutione praecipua, quae de multis ecolesiis colligere potueris, 
infundas. — Ex singulis ergo quibusque ecclesiis, quae pia, quae religiosa, quae 
recta sunt elige, et quae quasi in fasciculum collecta apud Anglorum mentes in 
consuetudinem depone." 



68 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

bury, over which Justus, another of the new missionaries, 
was set.' 

In the year 616, both Ethelbert and Saberet died, and the 
prospects for the further advancement of religion in the king- 
doms over which they had ruled were anything but prom- 
ising. Uadbald, the sou of Ethelbert, was captivated by the 
beauty of the lady whom his father had'married on the death 
of Bertha, and, wlien be succeeded to the throne, took her to 
his bed, and forsook a religion which would not permit him 
the gratiiication of his passions.^ His example had a most 
mischievous influence upon bis subjects. It kept those out 
of the Church who otherwise would have entered her commu- 
nion, and caused the relapse of others who were either tired 
of the restraints of Christianity, or desired to stand well with 
their king. The Church in England was threatened with 
still greater misfortunes when Saberet, the founder of West- 
minster Abbey, and nephew of Ethelbert, died, and his three 
sons, who had continued Pagans and enemies to Christianity, 
came to the tlirone of Essex. They openly professed Pagan- 
ism, and gave permission to their subjects to worship idols. 
Being present on one occasion, when Mellitus was adminis- 
tering Holy Communion, they demanded of the bishop that 
he should also give them of that "white bread" which he 
had given to their father. The bishop promptly refused, un- 
less they, like their father, should consent to be cleansed in 
the waters of baptism. The princes, indignant at this refusal, 
ordered him to quit their kingdom. The Bishop of London 
withdrew into the kingdom of Kent to confer with Lawrence, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Justus, Bishop of Rochester, 
as to the course to be pursued in the face of these growing 
difficulties, and the three agreed to return home, where they 
might serve God, as they thought, more effectually. Mellitus 
and Justus had already crossed over to France, and Lawrence 
was about to follow them, but the night before his intended 
departure he slept in the church of the monastery where re- 



» Monks of the "West, Vol. II., p. 182. Lingards Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 24 
(Baltimore, 1854.) (Tr.) 
^Ungard, 1. c. p. 24. (Tr.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 69 

posed the remains of Augustine, Ethelbert, and Bertha, and 
during the night had a dream, in which St. Peter appeared to 
him, chided him for his cowardice, and scourged him till the 
blood came, for thinking of leaving a church over which he 
had been set as bishop, and for which he should rather die, 
than abandon it to the enemies of Christ. The next day the 
archbishop hastened to the king, who at once demanded who 
liad dared treat one such as he so ill. "It was St. Peter," 
replied Lawrence, " who inflicted on me these blows and suf- 
i'erings for your salvation."' 

Eadbald, terrified by so signal a chastisement, renounced 
idolatry, put away his father's wife, received baptism, and 
recalled Aiellitus and Justus from France. 

Eadbald, though sutRciently powerful to restore Christian- 
ity within the limits of his own kingdom, was not, like his 
father, invested with the authority of Bretwalda, and could 
not therefore command obedience from the people of Essex. 
These, and particularly the inhabitants of London, obsti- 
natelj'- refused to again receive Mellitus and the other Chris- 
tian missionaries, saying that they much preferred their own 
idolatrous priests.^ Mellitus, on the death of Lawrence, a. d. 
619, succeeded him in the see of Canterbui-y. The kingdom 
of Essex seemed now almost hopelessly lost to Christianity, 
and the same may be said of East Anglia. Redwald, the 
king of the latter country, had been converted -while on a 
visit to Ethelbert, but after his return home, had, through 
the influence of his wife and counselors, relapsed into Pa- 
ganism. 

The missionaries, how^ever, met with considerable success 
in the kingdom of Northumbria, and, through the influence 
which this conquest gave them, were enabled to bring back 
and permanently secure to the Church the kingdoms of Essex 
and East Anglia. 

The conversion of the kingdom of Korthumbriacan not be 
overestimated in its influence upon the spread of Christianity 
in England. It was the largest and most important kingdom 

^Bede, II. 6. (Tk.) 
»Bede, II. 6, 7. (Tb.) 



70 Period 2. E-poeh 1. Fart 1. Chapter 1. 

of the heptarchy, was intimately connected with the king- 
dom of East Anglia, and its king, at the date of its conver- 
sion, exercised the authority of Bretwalda. 

King Edwin, who was mainly instrumental in introducing 
Christianity among the Angles to the north of the Huraber, 
was the son of Ella, or Alia, the first king of the Delrians, 
who then occupied the extensive region now known as York- 
shire, and had been excluded from the throne by Ethelfrid the 
Ravager, the son of Ida, called by the British bards, on ac- 
count of his cruelty, the Alan of Fire, or the Great Burner. 
Ethelfrid united under his own standard all the Anglo- 
Saxons of ifTorthumbria, who had heretofore composed the 
two kingdoms of Bernieia and Deira. Edwin grew up at the 
court of Fedwald, the king of East Anglia, and had married 
the daughter of his protector. Ethelfrid, fearing that the 
young prince whose crown he had usurped might become a 
dangerous rival, employed every meaus to induce Eedwald, 
who was then Bretwalda, to deliver him into his hands. Eed- 
wald was about to comply with the request, when his wife 
interposed, and besought her lord not to violate, for gold, his 
honor and the sacred rights of hospitality.^ Eedwald, who 
had formerly renounced Christianity, in compliance with the 
wish of his wife, now listened to her prudent counsel, and, 
instead of beti'aying the young prince, declared war against 
Ethelfrid, and defeated and slew him in battle. Edwin now 
became king of Northumbria, and, on the death of Eedwald, 
assumed the title and authority of Bretwalda, which, from 
this time forward, remained attached to the kingdom of 
Northumbria. Having lost his first wife, he sought in mar- 
riage Ethelburga (noble protectress), the sister of the reigning 
king of Kent, and daughter of Ethelbert and Bertha. She 
was therefore descended from Kengirt, on her father's side, 
and on her mother's, from Saint Clotilda. Her brother, Ead- 
bald, at first i-efused to listen to the proposals of the Northum- 
brian king, because the latter was a pagan. Edwin assured 
him that the princess, in case she became his wife, should be 

^Bede, 11.1% (Tk.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 71 

at liberty to observe all the practices and rites of her religion ; 
that the same privilege should be extended to any number of 
persons, of whatever quality or condition, she might see fit to 
bring with her; and that it was not improbable he himself 
might embrace her religion.' "With these conditions, she was 
given in marriage to the JSTorthumbrian prince, and Paulinus, 
one of the monks whom Pope Gregory had sent over to aid 
Augustine, and who was now consecrated Bishop of Nor- 
thumbria by the Archbishop of Canterbury, accompanied her 
to look after her spiritual wants (a. d. 625). 

Edwin was for a long time making up his mind, and it was 
not until after two years had elapsed that he finally took the 
steji. He had escaped death at the hands of an assassin sent 
by the king of the West Saxons to take his life, and now 
promised that, if he should return safe and victorious from 
the war he was about to wage with this deceitful foe, he 
would at once enter the Church, and, as a pledge of his sin- 
cerity, had his young daughter baptized by Bishop Paulinus.'' 
lie returned victorious, but still hesitated to carry his promise 
into efi'ect, and proposed a conference with his priests and 
thanes.^ Each in turn was asked his opinion of the new 
religion, and the first to answer was Coifi, the pagan high- 
priest. He declared that " the religion they had hitherto 
followed was worth nothing," because "none had served 
the gods with more zeal than himself," while "he had re- 
ceived no favors from them, and othei-s had received many." 
"If, then," he continued, "you have found, after searching 
examination, that the new religion is more efficacious, let 
us hasten to embrace it."* The next to give his opin- 
ion was a thane, who said that " life might be com- 
pared to the flight of a sparrow that enters a hall at night. 
Whence it comes, or whither it goes, no one can say; 
neither can any one say what preceded, or what will fol- 
low, the brief span of man's life. If, therefore," he con- 

1 Bede, II. 9. (Tk.) 
^Bede, loc. cit. (Tr.) 
^Bede, 11.13. (Tk.) 
^Bede, loo. cit. (Te.) 



72 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Cha/pter 1. 

eluded, "the new religion can tell us something certain of 
these things, it should be followed."^ 

The assembly then expressed a wish that Paulinus should 
speak and explain the truths of the Christian religion ; and 
when he had ceased, Coifi was the first to rise and assent to 
all the bishop had said. " I have," said he, " for these many 
years, been in search of truth, and the more I have searched, 
the more hopeless has seemed the task. I now declare I have 
found that which gives life and salvation and eternal blessed- 
ness. I am therefore in favor of at once cursing and commit- 
ting to the flames the altars which we have so uselessly con- 
secrated."^ 

The king immediately declared that he renounced idolatry 
and embraced the faith of Christ. The high-priest was the 
first to profane the pagan temples, by casting a spear into one 
of them; and the people, seeing that the gods were silent, set 
upon both temples and idols, and utterly demolished them. 

The king was baptized with great solemnity, by Paulinus, 
on Easter day, a. d. 627, in a wooden church hastily erected 
for the occasion, and his example was followed by his sons 
and great numbers of the nobility and people.^ The splendid 
minster of York, the metropolitan church of !N"orthern Eng- 
land, was afterward built on the site of this little wooden 
church, and the design of Pope Gregory thus carried into 
effect. 

Some time after this event, Paulinus accompanied Edwin 
and Ethelburga to a royal villa in the northern part of the 
kingdom, and, while there, was incessantly engaged for thirty- 
six days in catechizing the people of the neighboring villages, 
whom he baptized in the river which flowed close by. 

Paulinus, with that zeal which always characterizes truly 
apostolical men, did not confine his labors to the northern 
side of the Humber alone; but, passing to the south of that 
river, preached the faith to the inhabitants of the maritime 
province of Lindsay, many of whom he baptized in the Trent. 
The beautiful cathedral of Lincoln owes its origin to the mis- 

1 Bede, loo. cit. (Tk.) 
^Bede, II. 3. (Tk.) 
^Bede, II. 14. (Tr.;) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 73 



sion of Paulinus, and here also, in the year 628, he consecrated 
^onoriiis, the fourth successor to Augustine in the see of Can- 
terbury, and one of the first companions of tlie saint in his 
mission to England, over thirty years before. The then 
reigning pope, Honorius I., sent the jjallium to each of two 
metropolitans, and ordained that, in the event of the death 
of either, the survivor might appoint and consecrate his suc- 
cessor, without referring the matter to Eome. The great 
distance between Rome and England, the difficulty of travel 
by laud and sea, and the inconveniences that might arise from 
protracted delay in a country where the Church was still 
struggling for existence, rendered such provision necessary.' 
The Pope also wrote to King Edwin to congratulate him on 
his conversion, but when the letter reached England, the king 
had gone to his reward, six years after his baptism,^ but not 
until he had carried the power of his arms far into the north, 
where he left a perpetual record of his presence in the fortress 
which he built on the site of the city of Edinburgh (Edwin's- 
borough). 

The Britons of Wales continued to entertain feelings of the 
most bitter hatred against Edwin ; and their leader, Ceadwalla, 
though a Christian, entered into an alliance with PencZa, the 
idolatrous king of Mercia, for the purpose of humbling the 
ISTorthumbrians and their king. They invaded Northum- 
bria, defeated and slew Edwin and his eldest sou at the battle 
of Hatfield, October 11, a. d. 633. Penda, though he had 
sworn to save the life of the youngest son, brutally murdered 
him as soon as the young prince fell into his hands. The 
conduct of Ceadwalla, though a Christian, was still more 
barbarous than that of the idolatrous Penda. Eor a whole 
year he traversed the kingdom of ISTorthurabria from north 
to south, ravaging the country and putting the inhabitants to 
the sword. ISTearly every vestige of Christianitj' Avas oblit- 
erated from the soil of this once flourishing kingdom.' 

Paulinus withdrew from his see, leaving it in charge of 



' Tho beautiful letter of the Pope to Archbishop Honorius is given in Bede, 
II. 18. (Te.) 
•'Bede, 11.11. (Tr.) 
3 Bede, II. 20. (Tk.) 



74 Period 2. Upoch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 1. 

James, the Roman deacon, and conducted Queen Ethelburga 
to her brother in Kent, where, after sending her two sons and 
one daughter to her cousin, Dagobert, king of the Franks, she 
devoted the remainder of her life to the service of God. The 
titular bishop of Rochester, having been drowned in the 
Mediterranean while going on a mission to Rome, Paulinus 
was appointed to his place, with the consent of the king, by 
the Archbishop Honorius, whom he had himself consecrated 
at Lincoln. Here he died, after having spent forty-three 
years laboring to convert the Anglo-Saxons. But, though 
the prospects of Christianity now seemed so hopeless in 
Northumbria, they were shortly to open with greater bril- 
liancy than ever, under a prince whose heroic achievements 
were destined to eclipse those of the most distinguished of 
his predecessors. 

This was Oswald, the son of Ethelfrid and of the sister of 
King Edwin. After the defeat of his father, he made his 
escape, and, in company with many young nobles, sought and 
obtained protection and hospitality among the Scots, and dur- 
ing his stay among them embraced Christianity. 

After the death of Edwin, he returned to ISTorthumbria, and 
with a small, but heroic and resolute band of followers, dis- 
puted the sovereignty with Ceadwalla. The hostile armies 
met at Denisesburn, near the great wall of the Emperor Seve- 
rus. Oswald, on the night before the battle, erected a large 
cross, before which he and his followers prostrated them- 
selves, and besought the God of battles to favor their cause. 
He Avent forth on the next day with his handful of followers 
against the multitudes of his adversary, and gained a com- 
plete and decisive victory. Ceadwalla was slain, and the 
cause of Christianity was once more triumphant to the north 
of the Humber. Oswald at once sent to the monastery of 
lona, which had been founded by Colum.ba, to ask for mis- 
sionaries to convert his people. The abbot first sent Corman, 
a man of austere habits and stubborn character, who made 
but little progress in his mission, and shortly returned to his 
monastery. Aidan was next chosen and consecrated bishop, 
and by his prudence, conciliating disposition, and affable 
manners, won the hearts and gained the souls of this bar- 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 75 

barons people.' Oswald left him at liberty to establish hia 
bishopric in whatever part of the kingdom might seem best 
suited for that purpose. Aidan, instead of selecting the ex- 
isting see of York, established himself on the island of Lin- 
disfarne, on the coast of Bernicia, which, in many respects, 
bore a striking resemblance to lona. The Irish monks were 
now to take up, and prosecute with vigor, the work which the 
Roman monks had commenced. Eecruits were constantly 
arriving from Ireland and Scotland to help on the good work, 
and share the labors of Aidan. The bishop, following the 
practice of his country, erected a monastery for their accom- 
modation by the side of his cathedral, on the island of Lindis- 
farnc. Ai'dan was, in every sense, the model of a true bishop 
and an apostolic missionary. "He was," says Bede, "a pon- 
tiff inspired with a passionate love of goodness; and, withal, 
most gentle and moderate." He was filled with zeal for his 
holy calling, possessed of unbounded charity toward the poor, 
self-denying to himself, and tender vvith others. Between him 
and King Oswald, there always existed the warmest sympa- 
thy and the most intimate friendship. The king gave in his 
conduct an example of every Christian virtue, and did all in 
his power to second the efforts of the missionaries. He was 
profuse in his alms, considerate toward the poor, and provided 
amply for strangers who came in crowds to learn the wis- 
dom of Christ at the feet of Aidan. Having, during his long 
residence among the Scots, acquired a perfect knowledge of 
the Celtic language, he not unfrequently acted as interpreter 
between his subjects and the missionaries, who were not yet 
sufliciently acquainted with the A.nglo-Saxon tongue to dis- 
pense with such aid. And so great was his iutlnence not only 
with his own countrymen, but with the Picts and Scots also, 
that he was acknowledged Bretwalda by both nations. But 
all this prosperity was soon to come to an end. Oswald per- 
ished in battle, fighting against Penda, his old enemy, at the 
head of the Mercians, a. d. 642, in the thirty-eighth year of 
his age. His last words were worthy of a Christian king. 

1 Bede, III. 5. (Tu.) ; 



76 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

"May God," said he, "save their souls."' Penda ordered his 
head and hands to be cut off, impaled, and set up as a warn- 
ing to others. In this condition they remained for a whole 
year, when Oswy, the brother of the murdered king, obtained 
possession of them, and had the head conveyed to Aidan, at 
Lindisfarne, and the hands to the chapel of the royal fortress, 
at Bamborough. The Church reveres him as a martyr, and 
the English nation as one of its most glorious saints. After 
the death of Oswald, Northumbria was again divided into the 
two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira, over the latter of which 
Oswin, the son of ill-fated Osric, ruled. 

Bishop Aidan went through both kingdoms, preaching the 
Gospel of Christ, and while in Deira shared, when practica- 
ble, the hospitality of Oswin, with whom he was on terms of 
intimate friendship. 

The good feeling which had existed for many years between 
the two Northumbrian princes, was interrupted hy Oswy, king 
of Bernicia. Yielding to the feelings of jealousy, which the 
greater popularity enjoyed by Oswin among the l^orthum- 
brian chiefs had excited in his breast, he marched at the head 
of a powerful army against him. Oswin, conscious that his 
own forces were much inferior to those of his adversary, ad- 
vised his followers to consult for their own safety. He him- 
self took refuge with one of his nobles, on whom he had lately 
conferred great favors, and to whose loyalty and honor he 
thought he might safely commit himself in this emergency. 
The ungrateful noble had the meanness to betray his king 
and benefactor into the hands of his enemy, by whom he was 
put to death, August 20, a. d. 651. 

Twelve days after the death of Oswin, his friend Aidan, 
during one of his many missionary journeys, fell sick, and died 
under a tent which had been pitched .in haste at the back of a 
modest church he himself had built. His body was conveyed 
to Lindisfarne, and buried in the cathedral of the monastery.^ 

Finan,- also a monk of lona, was the first successor to the 
holy Aidan. He had the happiness of baptizing Peada, the 

^Bede, III. 9, 12. (Tn.) 

'Joan. Tynemouth, ap. Bolland, T. IV., Aug. p. 53. (Tk.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 77 

eon of Penda, the terrible king of the Mercians, or Middle 
Angles. During one of these intei'vals of peace, which were 
rare at that time in the Northumbrian annals, Peada came to 
the court of Oswy to ask in marriage his c^aughter Alchfieda} 
Hi^ request was refused, unless he should renounce idolatry, 
and become a Christian, tie set himself to the study of the 
Christian religion, and, after he had gained a knowledge of 
it, declared that he would embrace it, even though his suit 
should be unsuccessful. This conversion seems to have been 
principally owing to Alchfred, the brother of Alchileda, who 
had married a daughter of King Penda, and between whom 
and Peada there existed a brotherly love. Peada returned to 
his own country with his young wife, and accompanied by 
four missionaries from lona, at the head of whom was Diama, 
who was consecrated first bishop of the Mercians.^ 

Strange to say, Penda did not seem displeased with the 
conduct of his son, and was so tolerant of the new faith as 
to allow the missionanes to go through his kingdom and 
proclaim it to his people. He, however, showed his utter 
contempt of all Christians who did not practice what they 
professed. 

Sigebert, the king of Essex, was in the habit of frequently 
visiting King Oswy, by whom he was instructed in the 
Christian faith. After consulting with the leaders of his 
nation, according to the Anglo-Saxon custom, he consented 
to receive baptism, which was conferred upon him by Pinan, 
at the village of Oswy, near the old Roman wall of the Em- 
peror Severus, at the same place where, a short time after, 
Peada, as has been mentioned, was baptized.^ Sigebert ap- 
plied for missionaries to go with him to his own kingdom, 
and Oswy selected Cedd, an Anglo-Saxon monk of Ijindis- 
farne, who had been sent into Mercia with Peada, and after- 
ward recalled, as the most fitting person for this mission. He 
afterward went to Lindisfarne to be consecrated bishop of the 

East Saxons, and, returning, fixed his episcopal see at London, 

J 

^Bede, III. 25. (Tk.) 
'Bede, III. 21. (Tr.) 
'Bede, III. 22. (Tr.) 



78 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

formerly occupied by the Roman monk Mellitus. King Sige- 
bert was slain by his kinsmen, in the year 660, and Bishop 
Cedd survived him only four years. The latter, while on his 
way to Liudisfarng, was seized with a contagions disease, and 
died at the monastery of Lastingham, which he himself "had 
founded.^ 

The port of Genoa was at this time much frequented 
by Anglo-Saxon traders, from whom some of the inhabitants 
had acquired a knowledge of the language of the distant 
islanders. Among these was one Birinus, whose origin is 
unknown, but who, having received a commission from Pope 
Honorias I. to go and labor for the conversion of the coun- 
trymen of those traders, was consecrated by the Bishop of 
Genoa. Birinus landed in Wessex in the year 634, and at 
once commenced his labors among the people of this king- 
dom. Oswald, king of JSTorthunibria, had sought in marriage 
the daughter of Cynegils, king of Wessex, and, coming in 
person to seek his bride, he found Birinus at the court of his 
father-in-law. The two set about converting Cynegils, and 
they were rejoiced to find their labors shortly crowned with 
success. Oswald stood godfather^ to the king of Wessex. 
He was baptized at Dorchester,^ which afterward became the 
episcopal see of Birinus. Birinus labored in his new mission 
with the zeal of an apostle, converting multitudes and erect- 
ing numerous churches; and so great was the admiration 
which the people entertained for one who could voluntarily 
exile himself from his own country to work for the weal of 
others, that his praises were, for many years after his death, 
celebrated in their songs. He died a. d. 650. 

Cenwalch, who succeeded to his father, Cynegils, refused to 
accept the teachings of Christianity. Di'iven from his throne 
by Penda, whose sister he had refused to marry, he sought an 
asylum with good king Ajina of Essex, through whose influ- 
ence he was brought into the Church. He again got posses- 

^Bede, III. 23. (Tr.) 

^Bede, III. 7. (Tk.) 

' This is not the present city of Dorchester, but a place near Oxford, on the 
Thames. The see was afterward transferred to Lincoln. Monks of the "West, 
Vol. II., p. 284, note. (Te.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 79 

sion of his kingdom in the year 648, and, being solicitous to 
spread the faith among his subjects, named Agilbert,^ a Gaul, 
who had spent many years studying in the Irish monasteries, 
Bishop of Dorchester, in place of Birinus. In virtue of a 
promise made to his father on his death-bed, Cenwalch 
founded the great monastery of "Winchester for his Saxou 
subjects. 

The majority of Cenwalch's subjects could speak neither 
the Latin nor the Celtic language, and could not, therefore, 
converse with the missionaries directly. On this account, the 
king resolved to establish a bishopric at Winchester, and to 
appoint to it one who understood the Saxon language. Such 
a one was Wina, who, though he had made his studies and had 
been ordained in France, was perfectly conversant with Saxon, 
and became the first bishop of "Winchester.^ 

Some years later on (a. d. 686), St. Wilfrid, who was him- 
self in exile in Sussex, met there Ceadwalla, a descendant of 
Cenwalch's, who had been driven from his kingdom. The 
prince, to whom the saint rendered some kind offices, shortly 
after came again into possession of his kingdom, and overran 
Sussex, Kent, and Isle of Wight. In virtue of a vow which 
he had made before attempting the reduction of this island, 
he gave one-fourth of it to St. Wilfrid, to be applied to re- 
ligious uses. He was, however, still a pagan, aud both cruel 
and vindictive. He ravaged Kent with fire and sword, and, 
to avenge the wounds he had received in his efforts to reduce 
the Isle of Wight, put all its inhabitants, consisting of twelve 
hundred families of Jutes, to a frightful death. But, having 
returned to WesseX, he began to reflect on the words he had 
heard from Wilfrid during his exile in Sussex, and, sending 
for the saint, begged to be more fully instructed in the Chris- 
tian religion. Pie was so struck with its truth and the beauty 
of its moral precepts, in such mai'ked contrast with his own 
conduct, that he at once set out on a pilgrimage to Eome, 

1 Bede, 1. o. (Te.) 

^ There were in Wessex besides Dorchester two other bishoprics, viz., Win- 
chester and Sherburne; the latter was afterward transferred to Salisbury. 
Monks of the West, Vol. II., p. 284, note. (Tb.) 



80 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

where he was baptized by the Pope,^ and died while still clad 
in the robes of baptismal innocence. 

His successor, Ina, after a reign of thirty-seven years, also 
made a pilgrimage to Rome, and was the first to establish the 
practice of paying Peter's pence {a. d. 725). Among the 
Saxons and Franks, long hair was a mark of noble birth; but 
Ina, wishing to indicate that he renounced all worldly honor 
and distinction, had his long flowing locks cut off. He died 
shortly after having given these tokens of obedience and 
humility. 

Sussex was the last kingdom of the heptarchy to embrace 
the Christian religion, which it received from St. "Wilfrid, 
who, exiled from his own see of York, and from the Christian 
kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex, sought and obtained a se- 
cure asylum among the South Saxons, whom, in return for 
their generous hospitality, he converted to the faith of Christ. 
Edilwaleh, the king of Sussex, had already been converted by 
his wife, a Mercian princess, but the great bulk of the people 
were firmly attached to their ancient faith, and had obsti- 
nately repelled all advances of former Christian missionaries. 
They reproached those of their nation who had already em- 
braced Christianity with apostasy from the traditions of their 
fathers and the religion of their ancient gods. To this peo- 
ple, so wedded to their errors and so averse to change, did 
St. Wilfrid come as an exile and a missionary. He moved 
the hearts of the king and queen to pity and generosity by 
the tale of his sufferings, and obtained from them permission 
to speak of God and His holy Church to their subjects. 
Strengthened by the good-will of the king, the saint com- 
menced preaching the Gospel of Christ to these heathens, 
He told them of the power of God, of His goodness and His 
mercy, and exposed the foolishness of adoring idols. His 
words soon had their effect. His first converts were two 
hundred and fifty slaves whom the king gave him, and who, 
after they had been baptized, were informed by the saint that 
they were now freemen, because, having become children of 
Christ, they ceased to be slaves (a. d. 678). These were fol- 

1 Monks of the West, Vol. II., p. 399. (Tr.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 81 

lowed bj^ princes and nobles, and people of lower degree, who 
came in great numbers to receive baptism at the hands either 
of the saint himself or one of the four priests who accompa- 
nied him. So numerous were the conversions that the king 
' felt justified in compelling the few who held off to follow the 
example of the body of their fellow-countrymen.^ Wilfrid 
also taught the inhabitants the art of taking in nets the fish 
which abouncled in their rivers.^ In gratitude for all these 
benefits, the king gave the apostle and his companions the 
domain of Selsey as a residence dui-ing their exile. Here, Wil- 
frid founded a monastery, which became, in the year 711, the 
most southern bishopric of England.' 

The kingdom of Sussex was at first subject to the Bishop 
of Winchester, but it was finally determined to give it a 
bishop of its own. The first chosen to fill this office was 
Udbert, abbot of the monastery of Selsey, which had been 
founded by Wilfrid. After five years of ceaseless labor, this 
apostle had the consolation of seeing nearly all the Southern 
Saxons converted to Christianity, and the Church firmly es- 
tablished in their country. 

As we have seen. Pope Gregory the Great had intended to 
establish in England two metropolitan sees — namely, London 
and York — each of which was to have twelve suffragan bish- 
ops. St. Augustine, however, preferred Canterbury to Lon- 
don, and the successors of St. Gregory, while still adhering 
to the leading idea of their predecessor, acquiesced in the 
choice. Nevertheless, it was many years before this was 
carried fully iuto effect. For a period of seventy years, Eng- 
land had only one metropolitan, and his jurisdiction did not 
extend over the whole island. Deusdedit, the sixth Arch- 
bishop of Canterburj", having been taken oS by a pestilence, 
it became necessary to appoint another in his place ; and 
King Oswy of E'orthumbria, using the privilege in spiritual 
affairs, which seems to have been accorded to his office of 



^Bede, IV. 13. Eddius, a. 39. (Tk.) 
'Bede, loc. cit. (Te.) 

* The see was transferred to Chicliester in 1070. Monks of the West, Vol. II., 
p. 398, note. (Tk.) 
VOL II — 6 



82 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

Bretwalda, selected for this important see, "Wighard, a Saxon 
monk of Canterbury, who had been educated in the school 
founded by the first missionaries sent from Eome by St. 
Gregory, and was universally esteemed for his learning and 
virtue.^ Oswy and the king of Kent* desirous at once of con- 
ciliating national prejudice and maintaining a close bond of 
union with the Head of the Church, sent Wighard to Rome, 
to be consecrated by the Pope. But as "Wighard and nearly 
all his companions had died shortly after coming to Rome, 
the two kings left the choice of his successor to the Pope. 

Vitalian, who then occupied the papal chair, was slow to 
make choice of a man to fill so important a position. After 
casting about for some time, his first choice fell upon Hadrian, 
an African by birth, and abbot of a monastery near Naples. 
The abbot pleaded his unworthiness, and directed the Pope's 
attention to a Greek monk named Theodore, born at Tarsus, 
but then residing at Rome, whose knowledge was so profound 
and varied that he was surnaAied the Philosopher. He had 
already reached the venerable age of sixty-six.^ The Pope 
accepted this choice on condition that Hadrian would accom- 
pany Theodore to England, lest the Greek traditions of the 
latter might tempt him to depart from Roman usage. With 
this understanding, Theodore was consecrated by the Pope, 
March 26, a. d. 668, and, in company with Abbot Hadrian, set 
out for England, where he arrived May 27, a. b. 669. 

Through the co-operation of ^the powerful king of ISTorth- 
umbria, Theodore was received in England without the 
slightest opposition from either kings or prelates, and at once 
assumed the title and exercised the jurisdiction of Arch- 
bishop of Britain. This, however, can not be said to have 
been an assumption of unwarranted jurisdiction on the part 
of Theodore, for Pope Vitalian conferred upon hinr all the 
prerogatives that had been granted by Gregory the Great to 
St. Augustine.^ 

1 Bede, Hist. Eool. III. 29 ; also, Hist. Abbatum in "Wiramutha ad Girvum, 
n. 8. (Tb.) 

'Bede, Hist. Abb., c. 3; also, Hist. Ecol. IV. 1. (Tr.) 

'Bede, IV. 2. See also Diploma of Pope Vitalian in Act. SS. Bolland., T. 
VI., Septomb., p. 59. (Tb.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 83 

Theodore at first confined his labors to Northumbria and 
Mercia, and, having provided for the government of the 
Church in these kingdoms, be set out, in company with Ha- 
drian, to make a visitation of the whole of England. During 
this journey he settled many sanguinary feuds, reconciled 
princes and 'nobles, restored ecclesiastical discipline where it 
had become relaxed, corrected abuses, introduced the Eoman 
practice in celebrating the Easter festival,^ and the parish 
system instead of the tnissionary stations which had pre- 
viously existed, and persuaded princes and nobles to second 
his eflbrts by erecting churches on their demesnes.^ 

Having thus provided for the establishment of parishes, he 
next proceeded to the division of dioceses. These were at 
that time of vast extent; for, with the exception of Kent, 
each kingdom of the heptarchy had but one bishopric. Theo- 
dore therefore called a council at Hereford, September 24, 
A. D. 673, the first held in the Anglo-Saxon Church, but was 
unable to carry his measure.^ The council, however, passed 
two decrees of great importance, the first of which provided 
that bishops should in no way disturb the monasteries; and 
the second, that monks should not pass from one monastery 
to another without the permission of their abbot.* But, 
though Theodore did not succeed in having his plan of divid- 
ing the dioceses adopted in the council of Hereford, he never- 
theless persisted in carrying it into effect, which he did with 
the energy and resolution characteristic of great minds, but 
which seemed also, at times, closely allied to violence. So 
thorough and general was his work, that at the close of the 
seventh century the number of dioceses in England had in- 
creased from seven to seventeen.'^ It is to be regretted that, 



^Bede, IV. 2. (Tr.) 

'^Thos. de Elmtlan, Hist. Monast. S. Aug., p. 2S9. (Tk.) 

^Bede, IV. 5. (Tr.) 

^Bede, loc. cit. (Te.) 

^Thoywere: In Kent, Canterbury and Eochester ; in Essex, London ; in East 
Anglia, Dunwich and I-Ielmham ; in Sussex, Selsey ; in Wessex, Winchester and 
Sherburne; in Mercia, Litchfield, Leicester, Hereford, Worcester, and Sydna- 
cester; in Northumbria, York, Hexham, Lindisfarne, and Whithern [Candida 
Casa, the ancient see of Ninian the apostle of the Southern Plots). DoUinqer, 
Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 51. (Te.'I 



84 Period 2. Mpoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

in carrying this design into execution, Archbishop Theodore 
became involved in a long and angry contest with the great 
and saintly prelate, Wilfrid, bishop of York. 

"Wilfrid had drawn upon himself the anger of Egfrid, king 
of Northumbria, by advising the princess Etheldreda, whorn 
the king had compelled to marry him,^ to persist-in the reso- 
lution of dedicating her virginity to God. An open rupture 
did not, however, take place until after Egfrid had married 
the pi'incess Errnenburga, to whom "Wilfrid gave ofi'ense, by 
reprimanding her for frivolous and improper conduct. She 
represented to the king, with all the persuasiveness of female 
eloquence, that the fearless bishop was proud, wealthy, and 
more powerful than became a subject.' To the mind of the 
king, already irritated against the bishop, these words weie 
galling; but, fearful of making a direct attack upon him, he 
had the cunning to engage Archbishop Theodore in his de- 
signs;^ and, it must be admitted, the proceedings of the 
metropolitan were, in this instance, harsh and unjustifiable. 
He came to York by invitation from the king, and, in the 
absence of Wilfrid, divided his diocese up into three districts, 
over each of which he placed a bishop consecrated by him- 
self.^ Wilfrid protested; appealed to the Canons; and, find- 
ing everything else unavailing, set out for Rome, to lay the 
matter before Pope Agatho. "While at Eome, he received in- 
telligence of the death of the sainted queen Etheldreda (June 
23, A. D. 679), whose friend and spiritual father he had been, 
and by whose advice he undertook the journey to the shrine 
of the Apostles. 

Agatho summoned a synod of the Roman clergy to exam- 
ine into the case. They gave judgment in favor of "Wilfrid, 
and decided that the bishops appointed by Theodore should 
be deposed, and replaced by others, to be chosen by the in- 
jured bishop.^ 

"Wilfrid, on his arrival in England with the Papal decree, 
was seized by Egfrid at the instigation of his wife, and cast 

' Thorn. EUejis., c. 4, 8. (Te.) 

^Eddius, c. 20, 23, (Tk.) 

s Monks of the West, Vol. II., p. 376, note. (Tb.) 

*Eddius, c. 28, 30. 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 85 

into prison. He was released through the powerful influence 
of the Abbess Ebha,^ but on condition that he would never 
again enter the dominions of Egfrid. It was during this 
exile (a. d. 681-686) that he evangelized the South Saxons. 
Toward the close of his life, Theodore (fA. d. 690), conscious 
that he had seriously wronged Wilfrid, sent for him, became 
reconciled with him, and offered to appoint him his successor 
in the see of Canterbury, because of his great knowledge and 
acquaintance with the practices of Eome.^ Egfrid having 
died in the meantime, Theodore wrote to Aldfrid, his suc- 
cessor, and persuaded him to reinstate Wilfrid in the see of 
Tork, and to restore to him all the rights and prerogatives 
that had formerly belonged to that bishopric. But though 
fully reinstated .in his diocese, Wilfrid was not free from the 
persecutions of his enemies. The deposed bishops took every 
occasion to annoy and harass him ; and the king, who was 
offended by his austere severity, began to entertain a dislike 
cif him, which was assiduously encouraged by his many ene- 
mies.' After five years of ceaseless conflict, he was required 
by royal order to surrender the magnificent monastery of 
Ripon, which he had been at great pains to beautify and 
adorn, for the residence of a new bishop, to be appointed by 
the king.^ This he peremptorily refused to do, and, again 
fleeing from his diocese, sought refuge with JEthelred, king of 
Mercia, by whom he was appointed to the vacant see of Litch- 
field^ (a. d. 692). Here he resided eleven years (a. d. 692- 
703), during which he ajjpears to have lived a quiet and 
retired life, waiting for the coming of better days. In the 
year 692, Brithwald, an Anglo-Saxon, who was chosen to 
succeed Archbishop Theodore in the metl'opolitau .see of 
Canterbury, also took sides against Wilfrid. He called an 
assembly of bishops and abbots at Nesterfeld (a. d. 703), in 
Iforthumbria, near the monastery of Ripon, in which Wilfrid 
consented to take part, on condition that justice should be 

'■Eddius, 0. 37. 
^Eddius, c. 41. 
' Eddius, c. 43. 
* Loo. cit. 
^Eddius, 0.43. (Tb.) 



86 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

done him. But this promise was far from being kejijt; od 
the contrary, an attempt was made to obtain his signature to 
a fraudulent document, by which he was made to resign all 
claims to the government of any bishopric or monastery what- 
ever.' Fortunately he received friendly warning of this de- 
sign, and indignantly refused to comply with the wishes of 
his enemies. This having failed, he was offered the monas- 
tery of Ripon, on condition that he should not leave it with- 
out the royal permission or exercise any episcopal functions. 
"Wilfrid still more indignantly repelled this attempt "to vio- 
late the sacred character with which he was invested;" and 
added: "I appeal boldly to the Holy See. I invite any of 
you who desire my deposition to go there with me and re- 
ceive decision."^ lie at once set out for Kome. 

The papal throne was at this time occupied by John VI., 
who summoned a council of the Roman bishops and clergy 
to inquire into the controversy. Archbishop Brithwald also 
sent envoys to Rome iu the name of the assembly of Nester- 
feld,-^and in this way a fair hearing was given to both parties. 
Wilfrid read a paper before the council, in which he begged 
the Pope to enforce the decisions of his predecessors, Agatho, 
Benedict, and Sergius. Fearful, however, that the king of 
ISTorthumbria might oppose the full execution of these, and 
conscious of the necessity of being moderate in his demands, 
Wilfrid consented to resign the see of York, with all its de- 
pendent monasteries, to be disposed of according to the Pope's 
pleasure, but expressed a desire to retain the monasteries of 
Ripon and Hexham, with all their possessions. A hearing 
was next given to the envoys who accused Wilfrid of hav- 
ing treated the assembly of ISTesterfeld with contempt. 
The council, after it had sat for four months and held 
seventy sessions, declared Wilfrid innocent, and granted his 
request. 

Wilfrid returned to England in the year 705, and had an 
interview at London with Archbishop Brithwald, who prom- 

> Eddius, c. 44. (Tr.) 
2 Eddius, loc. cit. (Tb.) 
» Eddius, c. 47. (Tk.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 87 

ised to submit to the papal decision, and to recall the decrees 
of ISTesterfeld.i 

Aldfrid, king of Northumbria, at first refused to recognize 
the judgment of the Holy See; but, falling ill shortly after, 
he came to a better mind, and said, on his death-bed : " I com- 
mand my successor, whoever he may be, in the name of the 
Lord, and for the repose of my soul and his own, to make 
peace with Wilfrid." ^ The abbess JElfleda, sister of the king, 
but more distinguished for her exalted virtues than for her 
noble birth, was a witness of the king's words, and at an as- 
sembly called shortly after at Nid, by Archbishop Brithwald, 
testified that it was her brother's last will that the bishops, 
abbots, and lords assembled should do justice to Wilfrid and 
render obedience to Rome. The monasteries of Hexham and 
Eipon were thus given to the holy bishop, and a general 
reconciliation between him and his enemies took place.^ 

This great bishop and apostolic missionary died at Oundle, 
a monastic foundation near ITorthampton, which he himself 
had dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle, on the twenty-third 
day of June, a. d. 709, at the age of seventy-six, after having 
been bishop forty-four years. 

JSTotwithstanding these drawbacks and difficulties, it is 
nevertheless true that the mission of Archbishop Theodore 
and Abbot Hadrian had a great influence in giving organiza- 
tion, unity, stability, and efliciency to the Church in Eng- 
land. They were learned and energetic; equally skilled in 
theological and secular science, and labored strenuously to 
diffuse a knowledge of both among the Anglo-Saxon Chris- 
tians. Theodore had brought a copy of Homer with him 
from Rome, and passed some of his leisure moments in 
the perusal of that great classic. Schools were established, 
in which, besides the theological branches, Greek, Latin, math- 
ematics, and astronomy were taught. So proficient did the 
Anglo-Saxons become in these departments of secular knowl- 



■ Eddius, c. 54. (Tr.) 

'Eddius, 0. 56. (Tk.) 

' The Anglia Sacra of Hemy Wharton, in which much historical matter has 
been carefully and diligently collected, is of great importance on this subject. 
London, 1791, 2 vols, folio. 



88 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

edge, that they were shortly able to compute the Pascal cycle, 
wrote Latin verses with correctness, ease, and grace, and 
spoke both Latin and Greek as readily as their mother- 
tongue.^ Music and chant, which up to this time had been 
confined to the monasteries of Canterbury and York, now 
became common all over England.^ 

A reconciliation was also effected between the ancient Brit- 
ons of Wales and the Anglo-Saxon converts; and, in conse- 
quence of the spread of Christianity throughout England by 
the labors of Roman, Lnsh, Frankish, and Anglo-Saxon mis- 
sionaries, the old British Church coalesced with those of L'ish 
and Roman origin. But notwithstanding this friendly inter- 
course between the two Churches, there existed among the 
Britons certain practices at variance with those of Rome, 
which they tenaciously clung to, and which for a time they 
struggled strenuously to maintain. The principal of these 
were — 1. The ancient British rite of administering the sacra- 
ment of Baptism; 2. The computation of the festival of Easter 
according to the Jewish cycle; and 3. The form of ecclesias- 
tical tonsure.' In the administration of baptism, the ancient 
Britons were accustomed to omit the anointing of the head. 
But this point was not regarded by the British Church of as 
great importance as the difference between the two rules of 
celebrating the Pascal festival, and was no serious hindrance 
to an accommodation. The real difficulty lay in the Easter 
computation. 

It may be well to remark, that, from the very earliest ages, 
the question regarding the exact time of celebrating Easter 
had given rise to many difficulties. It came up at the Council 
of Mce, and the Fathers passed a decree, enacting that the 

1 Of. Freiburg Ecol. Cyclop, art. Wilfrid. Bede, IV. 2. 

'^Bede, loc. cit. (Tk.) 

3 There were at this time three different forms of tonsure : 1. That of St. 
Peter, or the Eoman, -which consisted in cleanly shaving the top of the head, 
and leaving a crown of hair at the base, symbolical of the Crown of Thorns. 
2. That of St. Paul, in which the whole head was shaved. 3. That of the 
Apostle St. John, called by its adversaries that of Sbnon Magus, and in use 
among the Irish and Britons, in which the front of the head was shaved so as 
to resemble a crescent, or semi-circle, and the hair allowed to fall down upon 
the back. 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 89 

celebration of the Easter festival should take place on the 
first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox. This 
rule, followed by the Roman Church, was introduced into 
ancient Britain by the early missionaries, and into Ireland 
and Caledonia respectively by St. Patrick and St. Columba. 

In this computation, the Jewish cycle of eighty-four years. 
which contained an astronomical error, had been followed; 
and the Alexandrians, having detected the error, introduced 
a more exact calculation, which was adopted by all the East- 
ern Churches. In the year 444, a difi'erence of nearly a month 
intervened between the days on which Easter was celebrated 
at Rome and at Alexandria, and Pope Leo the Great ordered 
that the festival should be observed on the 23d of April, the 
day on which it fell according to the Alexandrian computa- 
tion. Toward the middle of the sixth century, the cycle of 
Denys the Little, which exactly corresponded with that of 
Alexandria, was adopted at Rome, and hence, from this time 
forward, a complete uniformity existed in the two Churches 
regarding the celebration of Easter. 

The Britons having been cut off from intercourse with 
Rome by the Saxon invasion, retained their ancient rule, and 
it is precisely their fidelity to this rule which proves their 
fidelity to Rome. When they again came in contact with 
the Aoglo-Saxons after the latter had become Christians, or 
at least some of them, they found the Roman rule prevailing 
regarding the celebration of Easter. St. Augustine had in- 
troduced it into England, and as he had received from Pope 
Gregory authority over the British bishops, he made everj^ 
efibrt to bring them in accord with the Church of Rome. " As 
to the British bishops," said the Pope, "we commit them 
entirely to your care, that you may instruct the ignorant, 
strengthen the feeble, and correct the evil."^ Augustine ac- 
cordingly set to work to carry out the instructions of the 
Pope. He obtained the favor of a conference with the prin- 
cipal bishops and doctors of Wales on the banks of Severn, 
which separated the Saxons from the Britons (a. d. 599 or 603). 
Though he performed a miracle in proof of the divine sanction 

'Epist. IX. 6i. (Tk.) 



90 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

which was accorded to his authority,' the Britons refused to 
comply with his request till they should have consulted 
their people, and obtained their consent to depart from prac- 
tices of so great antiquity. A second conference was held soon 
after, but the Britons, dreading the authority of one whom 
they did not know, and who resided in the territory of their 
implacable enemies, refused to comply with the Roman usage, 
or to acknowledge the archbishop's authority.^ The monks 
of the monastery of Bangor also attended this conference to 
the number of three thousand, and the holy archbishop, 
indignant that they would not interest themselves in the 
conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, prophesied that punish- 
ment would shortly come upon them. This prophecy was 
fulfilled some years later, when Ethelfrid, the Pagan king of 
IJ'orthumbria, marched into their territory, and in one battle 
slew twelve hundred of them.' 

Although Lawrence, Archbishop of Canterbury, had in- 
formed the Irish that they were not observing the Roman 
rule with regard to the time of the celebration of Easter, they 
took no steps to correct their error until after Pope Honorius I. 
had written to them on the subject (a. d. 630). Upon the re- 
ceipt of this letter, the bishops and abbots of the South of 
Ireland assembled in council at Old Leighlin, where the most 
distinguished of their number argued that, as their ancestors 
had yielded obedience to the decrees of the Holy See, it was 
their plain duty to celebrate the Easter festival according to 
the instructions of the Pope. But, as the decision of this 
council excited considerable opposition, it was determined to 
send an embassy to Eome, who, as Cummian says, "should 
go as children to learn the wish of their parent." * On their 
return, they reported that they had seen at Pome people from 
all quarters of the globe, celebrating Easter, on the same day, 
and from that time (a. d. 633) forward, the Poman rule was 
observed in the whole of the South of Ireland. 

The great monastery on the island of lona maintained a 



:e, II. 2. (Tk.) 
'Bede, V. 18. (Tr.) 
^Bede, V. 18. (Tr.) 
<Epist. p. 23. Bede, II. 3. (Tr.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 91 

close connection with those of the north of Ireland, and 
seems to have exercised so powerful an influence over them 
that they continually looked to it for direction and counsel. 
As the monks of this celebrated cloister were devotedly at- 
tached to their traditions, and regarded with religious rever- 
ence all the practices of their great founder, they refused to 
give up their ancient rule of celebrating the Easter festival, 
and adopt that of Eome; and their example was applauded 
and followed by the monasteries in the north of Ireland. 
The Irish rule had been introduced into JSTorthumbria by 
Aldan, bishop of Lindisfarne, and followed by his successor, 
Bishop Finan, like himself, a monk of lona. In the mean- 
time, other missionaries, who had learned the Koman rule 
abroad, came into Northumbria, and, as their jDractices clashed 
with those followed by the monks of lona, this country be- 
came the battle-field of the two parties. 

Among the most distinguished of those who advocated and 
adopted the Roman rule were Nonan, an Irishman, who had 
studied on the continent, the Eoman deacon Ja,mes of York, 
and Wilfrid, who had studied at Home, and who, on his 
return, so influenced the mind of Alchfrid, one of the kings 
of JSTorthumbria, in favor of the Roman rule, that the latter 
insisted on introducing it into tlie monastery of Ripon. 
The monks of this establishment refused compliance, and 
declared that they would rather give up this sanctuary than 
abandon their ti'aditions. Alchfrid accepted their proposal 
and installed Wilfrid as abbot. ^ Colman, who had suc- 
ceeded Finan as Bishop of Lindisfarne, a. d. 661, and who, 
like his predecessor, was both an Irishman and a monk of 
lona, was the most strenuous advocate of the Celtic rule. He 
possessed a strong ally in Cedd, Bishop of the East Saxons, 
who, though an Anglo-Saxon by birth, had been educated in 
Ireland. 

The royal family were also divided on this question. Oswy, 
who had been baptized and educated by the Celtic monks, 
and who spoke their language with fluency, and the princess 
Hilda, abbess of the double monastery of Whitby, who had 

^Bede, Hist. Ecol. iii. 25, v. 19, and Life of Cuihbert, c. 8. (Te.) 



92 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

I'eceived the veil from Bishop Ai'dan, naturally enough adopted 
their rule of celebrating Easter ; while his queen, Eanfleda, 
and his son, Alchfrid, followed that of Eome. In the royal 
palace, therefore, there were two celebrations of Easter, and 
while King Oswy was feasting and rejoicing, Eanfleda and 
Alchfrid were still fasting and doing penance. 

Oswy, in order to bring this tiresome and dangerous dis- 
pute to a close, convoked a Witenagemot, or parliament, at 
Whitby (Streoaeshalch), composed not only of the principal 
ecclesiastics of the country, but also of all those who had a 
right to sit in the national councils of the Anglo-Saxons, 
where it was publicly disputed in his presence. The king 
opened the conference by saying, that, as they all worshiped 
the same God, it was but fitting that all should follow the 
same rule in all things pertaining to that worship. He then 
called upon Bishop Colman to state his arguments. The 
bishop stated that he and his followers had received their 
rule of celebrating Easter from their predecessors, who, in 
their turn, had received it from St. John the Apostle and 
Evangelist. " We keep Easter," said he, " as St. Columba 
of the Cell did — as did Polycarp and all his disciples of old. 
Out of reverence for our ancestors we dare not, and we will 
not change."' 

Wilfrid replied that he and his adherents " kept Easter as 
it was kept by all the Christians at Eome — as it was kept in 
Africa, in Asia, in Egypt, in Greece, and throughout Chris- 
tendom;" and that " the Picts and Britons foolishly persisted 
in contradicting all the rest of the world." ^ He also stated 
that the example of St. John was not to the point, as he cel- 
ebrated Easter after the manner of the Jews, on the four- 
teenth day of the moon, without regard to the day of the 
week, whereas the Irish always observed the Sunday fol- 
lowing. 

Colcian insisted that St. Columba and his successors, who 
had given so many proofs of sanctity and Divine favor by 
miracles and holiness of life, could not have been in the 



>■ EddiHs, 0. 10. 
^Bede, I.e. (Tr.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 93 

wrong; and declared that "he would forever follow their 
teaching and example." To this the abbot "Wilfrid answered 
that "he did not deny that these were servants of God, and 
beloved by Him," but maintained that, as they acted accord- 
ing to their liglits at the time, they would, if living, uovi' 
have yielded obedience to the authority of the Church. 
"Even admitting," said he, "the sanctity of your fathers, 
how can you prefer to the Church, spread over the whole 
earth, this handful of saints in one corner of a remote 
island?" 1 

Wilfrid, in the excessive advocacy of his cause, appealed 
to the teachings of Ploly Writ, and asserted that the present 
rule had been introduced by St. Peter, both of which assei'- 
tions are entirely destitute of any foundation. The practice 
of the Holy See, as he said, was decisive of the question, and 
he should have rested there. He brought forward the true 
and insuperable argument at the close of his speech, when he 
appealed to the authority of the Apostolic See. "However 
holy or powerful," said he, " Columha may have been by his 
virtues, cau we place him before the chief of Apostles, to 
whom our Lord himself said, ' Thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall 
not prevail against her; and I will give unto thee the keys 
of the kingdom of Heaven.' " ' The king was struck by the 
force of the argument which placed his choice between the 
authority of Columba and that of the Prince of the Apostles ; 
and Colman having confessed that he admitted the authority 
of Peter, and could produce no such sanction for the author- 
ity of Columba, the king cried out : " I say, like you, that he 
is the porter of Heaven, and that I will not oppose him, but, 
on the contrary, obey him in all things, lest, when I come to 
the doors of the heavenly kingdom, there be none to open 
them to me, if I am at variance with him who carries the 
keys. In all my life I will neither do nor approve anything 
or any person that may be contrary to him."^ 
When the king had brought his speech to a close, a vote 

^Bede, III. 25. (Te.) 

^Eddtus, c. 10. Bede, 1. c. (Tk.) 



94 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

was taken, and the whole-assembly expressed their desire to 
follow the Eoman rule. The other questions in dispute did 
not come up for discussion, as they were regarded as de- 
pendent on the issue of the main question. Hence those 
who adopted the Roman rule, accepted also the Roman 
tonsure. 

Bishop Colman, however, refused to give up the traditions 
of his ancestors, and in the year 664 resigned the bishopric 
of Lindisfarne, and, carrying with him the hones of Bishop 
Aidau, the founder of the monastery, retired, with those who 
shared his opinions, to the monastery of lona.' As Tuda and 
Ceadda, his successors in the see of Lindisfarne, adopted the 
Roman Easter, lona, the Pictish nation, and the north of Ire- 
land, were the only places that still held out and refused to 
give up the traditions of St. Columba. But Adamnan, the 
biographer of this saint, whose countryman he was, having 
become abbot of lona in the year 679, labored strenuously to 
induce the monks to forsake their error. His efforts, how- 
ever, were unavailing, and, passing over to Ireland, where he 
died in either 704 or 705, he succeeded in bringing back the 
people of that country, who still celebrated Easter according 
to ancient computation, except a few who were under the 
immediate inHuence of lona, to the Roman rule. 

The Picts, yielding to the energy and persuasions of their 
hing, Nechtan, and to the arguments of the abbot Ceolfrid, 
who had been trained in the school of St. Wilfrid, gave up 
their error about the year 710.^ The monastery of lona still 
held out, but what Adamnan, their own countryman, was un- 
, able to effect, was accomplished by Egbert, who, though an 
Anglo-Saxon, had resided many years in Ireland. He was 
gentle in disposition, suave in manner, and of remarkable 
holiness of life. He accomplished by sweetness and kindness, 
a task in which Adamnan had failed, and having, in the year 
716, prevailed upon the sons of St. Columba to accept the 
Roman rule, he passed out of this world, thirteen years later, 
on Easter Sunday, the very feast which he had labored so 

^ Bede, 111. 26. (Tk.) 

■iBede, Hist. Ecol. V. 21. (Tr.) 



§ 156. Christianity in the British Isles. 95 

strenuously and eii'eetually to establish among his sons of 
lona.' lie went to enjoy his Easter in heaven. 

It is true, the Britons of Cambria still clung to their old 
traditions, notwithstanding the manj^ efforts of the Anglo- 
Saxon missionaries to bring them into harmony with the rest 
of the Church. Bnt this obstinacy should be attributed to a 
jealousy of their Anglo-Saxon conquerors, whom they hated 
with an inveterate hate, which did not cease even after they 
had renounced their errors, rather than to any schismatical 
leaniug. After considerable resistance, Elbod, bishop of 
Bangor, and a Briton by birth (a. d. 770), induced his coun- 
trymen to lay aside their ancient practice and accept the rule 
of the universal Church, and toward the close of the eighth 
century was equally successful with the inhabitants of South 
Cambria.^ 

Such was the termination of the controversy which had so 
long disturbed the peace of the Church in the British islands — ■ 
a controversy which, though it excited many passions and was 
maintained with bitterness and obstinacy, can not be said to 
have originated from any spirit of schism or dislike toward 
Home. We have seen all along how close a connection was 
maintained between Rome and both the contending parties; 
how each appealed to the authority of the Apostolic See and 
accepted its decision ; how the Irish, in obedience to the in- 
structions of Pope Honorius I., set about correcting their cal- 
endar ; and how the king and Bishop Colman admitted the 
authority of the Roman rule, and accepted it as decisive of 
the Easter question. 

The Cambrians, away off in a distant corner of Britain, 
had no opportunity of communicating with the. Holy See, 
and hence some modern writers, such as Gieseler and others, 
have sought to account for this by asserting that they did not 
acknowledge its authority. But their efforts have utterly 
failed.3 



1 Bede, V. 22. 

^Amio DCCLXX. Pascha mutatur apud Britones, emendante Elbod, homine 
Dei. Ann. Eccl. Menevensts, in Anglia Sacra, Vol. II., p. 048. 

^ An effort has been made by Gieseler to prove that the principal point of 
controversy between the Britons and St. Augustine arose from the fact, that the 



96 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

§ 157. Christianity in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 

■\HansizU, S. J., Germania sacra, T. I. (Metropol. Laureacens. cum Episcopat. 
Pataviensi.) T. II. (Archiepiso. Salisb.) T. III. Prodromus (Archiepise. Eatis- 
■bon.) Augustae Vindelioor. 1729 et Viennae, 1755. Sig. Galles, S. J., Annales 
eccl. Germ. (T. I., II. Viennae, 1756 sq. 6 T. fol.) Rettherg, Ch. H. of Germ., 
Vol. II. (to 814); giving the special Literature on the particular lishoprics. 
V'Friedrich, Qh. H. of Germ., Vol. II., p. 392-666. \Hefele, Hist, of the Intro- 
duction of Christianity into South-western Germany, Tiibg. 1837. -\Hiemer, 
Introd. of Christ, into the German countries, I., IK, Schaffh. 1858. Tr.'s Add.: 
Heier, The Ante-Carlovingian Heroes of the FaiW'on the Rhine, Frkft. 1858, 2d 
ed. Getting. Rudhart, The most ancient Hist, of Bavaria, Hambg. 1841. '''Oza- 
nam, Establishment of Christ, in Germ., transl. from Ihe French into German, 
Munich, 1845. ''Seiters, St. Boniface the Apostle of tne Germans, Mentz, 1845. 

While the Germaus, who had settled within the borders of 
the Roman Empire, and who had long since been converted 



former did not recognize the supremacy of the Pope. He adduces, in proof of 
the statement, a document written in tlie British language, and brought to light 
by Spelman, in which Dinoth, abbot of Bangor, is represented as declaring to 
St. Augustine that the Pope is not Supreme Euler of the Church. 

Dollinger has shown that this document is of a later date than that ascribed 
to it, and that it bears intrinsic evidence of being a forgery. His chief argu- 
ments are: 1. Augustine could not have been acquainted with the British 
tongue, and hence Dinoth could not have made the alleged declaration to him. 
2. The language of this pretended ancient document is modern, and contains an 
Anglo-Saxon word. This has been proved by many English scholars, and Spel- 
man, who discovered it, admits that the manuscript is modern, but thinks it 
possible that it might have been copied from one of early date. 3. It contains 
an anachronism. Bishop of Cderleon, on the Osca, is represented as metropolitan 
of the British church, whereas the bishop of Menevia had long before been raised to 
that dignity. 4. It is certain that British churchmen acknowledged the Suprem- 
acy of Rome, for Gildas says that many of them, when contending for ecclesi- 
astical preferments, referred their quarrels to Rome for arbitration. " Etenim 
eos," he says, "si in parochia nonnuUis resistentibus sibi et tarn pretiosmn 
quaestum severe denegantibus commessoribus, hujusmodi margaritam invenire 
non possint, praemissis ante sollioite nuntiis, transnavigare maria, terrasque 
spatiosas transmeare non tam piget quam delectat, ut omnino talis species . . . 
comparetur. Deinde, cum magno apparatu magnaque phautasia, vel potius 
insania, repedantes ad patriam . . . violenter manus . . . sacrosanctis 
Christi sacrificiis extensuri.-' Gildae Epist., p. 24. See Dollinger, Ch. H. Eng- 
lish trans., Vol. II., p. 61 et seq. " It may be said to have been annihilated," 
says Count Montalembert, " by the two memoirs of M. Varin, On the Causes of 
the Dissension between the British and the Roman Church, published by the Acad- 
emy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, 1858." Monks of the West, Vol. II., p. 
175, note. (Tu.) 



§ 157. Christ, in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 97 

to Christianity, were enjoying its blessings and consolations, 
those who inhabited the country beyond these limits, and 
who. were destined, during the present period, to play so im- 
portant a part in the history of the Church, were still shrouded 
in the darkness of Paganism. It was with extreme difficulty 
that the new faith forced its vyay into the countries beyond 
the Danube and the Rhine, where the Grerman tribes, which 
had not yet come into contact with the superior civilization of 
southern and westemi nations, were still attached to the tra- 
ditions and customs of their ancestors. The difficulties which 
missionaries had here to encounter and overcome, before any 
measure of success could attend upon their labors, were of a 
character peculiar to the people, and moi-e numerous and ap- 
palling than those of any other nation. Among these were 
the deadly feuds and hereditary hatred of the various tribes; 
the apprehension, not unfrequently well founded, that foreign 
missionaries might disguise hostile intentions under pretense 
of a holy zeal ; their aversion to everything Roman — a name 
which they associated with all that is vile and base ; and 
finally, their peculiar notions of morality and personal lib- 
erty. They carried their notions of personal liberty to such 
a length that they esteemed the privilege of bearing arms the 
most sacred of human rights, and felt bound, as a matter of 
honor, to take a bloody revenge on any one who should give 
them offense. Hence they could not comprehend and fully 
appreciate how one who suffered patiently, and met death 
willingly and without resistance, could become the Savior of 
mankind. The conversion of Germany was, therefore, a 
labor requiring time and patience, accompanied with many 
difficulties and doubtful struggles, and was not brought to a 
successful issue till near the close of the eighth century. It 
is more than likely, too, that policy was no inconsiderable 
motive with the Germans in taking this step; and it must be 
confessed that the interference of the Merovingian, and, nota- 
bly, of the Carlovingian princes, in the work of conversion, 
was, according to our notions at least, violent and unwar- 
ranted. The Germans received the knowledge of Christian- 
ity from various sources. The first seeds of Gospel truth 
VOL. II — 7 



98 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

were sown in Germaa soil by Irish and Scotch missionaries; 
and, side by side witli them, the Frankish missionaries la- 
bored successfully to spread the faith in Bavaria. But the 
Anglo-Saxons were the true apostles of Germany; and among 
these, St. Boniface is, beyond all comparison, the most distin- 
guished, and is justly called the Father of the Church in 
Germany. The individual efibrts of these men were, after 
all, no more than a commencement. They, indeed, laid the 
foundation deep and wide, but the work of completing the 
superstructure was reserved to Charlemagne, through whose 
exertions the Church in Germany was placed upon a perma- 
nent basis. This victoiy over Paganism was not, however, 
achieved without a certain measure of violence and the shed- 
ding of blood. ^ 

Christianity had been introduced into the countries along the 
Danube, such as Helvetia, Ehaetia, Vindelicia, and I^oricum, 
as early as the second and third centuries, as well as into those 
bordering on the Rhine, where the Church had already reached 
a certain degree of prosperity'; and also into the districts of 
Upper and Lower Germany .^ But the wars, consequent upon 
the migration of nations, which, toward the close of the 
fourth century, desola-ed these countries, swept away, in their 
destructive course, cities and churches and people ; and if 
Christians here and there escaped the violence of these rav- 
ages, and survived the evils of the times, no record of their 
history has come down to us. Hence the only authentic 
monuments of the early history of Christianity in Germany 
are confined to scattered and scanty allusions in the lives of 
her saints, and to the subscriptions of her bishops to the 
acts of councils. 

Wo full, satisfactory, and precise account of the conversion 
of the German people exists of a date anterior to the seventh 
century.' While these countries were in a state of anarchy 
and seemingly hopeless confusion, our Divine Savior, Jesus 
Christ, who ever watches with providentialcare over the destinies of 

iThis Introd. t > the Early Hist, of the Church is taken substantially from 
Kraus' Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 222. (Tr.) 
2 See Vol. I., p. 250 sq. 
"Of. DSlUncjer, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 72. (Tk.) 



§ 157. Christ, in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 99 

His Cha.rch, had so ordained that Christianity shonld be intro- 
duced into Ireland and Britain, where it spread with, remarka- 
ble rapidity, and attained a strong and vigorous development, 
to the end that Christian missionaries might, in their turn, go 
forth from these peaceful shores for the twofold purpose of 
carrying the light of faith into the wilds of Germany and 
restoring the Church of France to her former glory .^ 

As was fitting, most of these devoted missionaries directed 
their steps to Rome, before beginning their labors, to secure 
the requisite authority and obtain the apostolic blessing upon 
their work. By thus placing themselves under the immediate 
authority of the Holy See, they secured the double advantage 
of an apostolic commission and an intimate union with the 
Head of the Church, which was a source of comfort and hope 
when their energies flagged or mishaps came upon them. 

Although the bishopric of Vindonissa,^ in Helvetia, had ex- 
isted from the earliest times, no account has reached us of 
those bishops who filled the see previously to the time of 
Bubuleus, who was present at the synod of Bpaon, held a. d. 
517. He was succeeded by one Grammatieus, whose name is 
found among those who attended the council of Auvergne, 
held A. D. 535, and the two councils of Orleans, held re- 
spectively A. D. 541 and 549. Maximus, his successor, trans- 
ferred the see to Constance, a change which was of immeasui-a- 
ble advantage to Alemannia, as it was the means of efliecting 
the conversion of the entire people. 

In the year 630, the Frankish king Dagobert I. extended 
the boundaries of this diocese so as to include the cities of 
Strasburg, Basle, Augsburg, Lausanne, and Coire.^ 

There were also bishoprics at Aventicum* and Geneva, at 
Octodurum,-' in the Valais; at Coire, in Ehaetia, and at Basle; 
but these were mostly destroyed during the migrations of the 

' t The Irish Missionaries in Germany {Bonn Periodical, Now Series, year IV., 
11. 1, pp. 19-56; n. 3, pp. 28-48). 

' Windisch, in the Canton of Argovia. (Tn.) 

^Neugart, Episcopat. Constant., St. Blasii, 1803, T. I., Preiburg, 1861; T. II., 
ed. Mone; Eichliorn, Episcopat. Curiensis, St. Bias. 1799; Friedrich, Vol. 11, 
p. 439 et sq. 

* A"^enohe, near Bern, afterward transferred to Lausanne. ■ 

Trom the year 584, called Sitten. 



100 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

Huns and Alemanni, who settled about these cities and in the 
adjacent territories." 

It would seem to be established, beyond all reasonable 
doubt, by the authority of several legends of saints and cer- 
tain sepulchral inscriptions, that the Alemanni of Southwest- 
ern Germany ,Hvho dwelt in the countries of Alsatia, Switzer- 
land, Brisgovia, and Wiirtemburg, had received a knowledge 
of Christianity as early as the times of the Eomans. 

After the battle of Zulpich (a. d. 496), the Alemanni be- 
came subject to the king of the Franks, a circumstance 
which contributed materially to bring about their conversion. 
The Alemannian Law, enacted by Theoderic in the year 511, 
produced a salutary influence in the same direction. Its rig- 
orous injunctions with regard to morality were in harmony 
with the teaching of the Gospel, and conduced to the forma- 
tion of Christian habits and conduct among the people.' 
Finally, the translation of the episcopal see from Yindonissa 
to Constance, a city situated in the very center of the coun- 
tries occupied by the Alemanni, was, as we have stated, an 
event, the importance of which can not be overrated in taking 
into account all the circumstances that contribilted to the 
conversion of this people. Missionaries began now to come 
in from the distant shores of Ireland and Scotland ; for it is 
a noticeable fact that these early pioneers of the faith were, 
without exception, either Irish or Scotch. 

The first of those apostolic men to appear in Germany was 
Fridolin, an Irishman by birth, who had already spent many 
years of his laborious life at Poitiers, near the tomb of 'St. 
Hilary, whose virtues he admired, and for whom he had a 
very special devotion. In the year 511, he arrived on the 
banks of the upper Ehine, and founded at Sackingen, a town 
situated on an island of that river, above Basle,'' a nunnery 

^■[Se/ieerer, Swiss Heroes and Heroines of the Christian Faith, Schaffh. 1857; 
V^Lufoff, Apostles of Switzerland before St. Gall, Luzerne, 1871, 2 vols. GelpJce, 
Ch. H. of Switzerland, Bern, 1856 (see Tiibff. Quart. 1850, p. 465-471). 

''Agaihlas, Hist, od Bonn. Columbani opp. Bibl max. PP. XII. Joriae vita 
S. Columb. by MahUlon, Act. Bened. saec. II., P. 1. Vita S. Galli, Pertz, II. 1. 

^Hefele, 1. c., p. 211-240. Frtedrich, Vol. II., p. 490 et sq. 

*The oldest biography of St. Fridolin is to be found in the Mone Collection 



§ 157. Christ, in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 101 

and a monastery of monks. He issued forth from this retreat 
to preacli the Gospel to the inhabitants of both banks of the 
river. 

St. Trudpert evangelized that part of the country of Breis- 
gau lying to the south of Freiburg and extending to the north 
as far as Sehutern ; but he was, unfortunately, murdered by a 
slothful and treacherous servant, while resting from his ar- 
duous labors (f a. d. 643). 

St. Columbanus, a native of Ireland, was born in the year 
1)43. He had been early instructed in literature and the lib- 
o,ral arts, and, possessing a handsome person and strong pas- 
sions, was subject to many temptations, which he set himself 
resolutely to overcome. He at first intended to remain in his 
own country, and, in the hope of subduing the incessant 
solicitations of the flesh, applied himself to the study of Holy 
Scripture. But it was all in vain ; and he determined, not- 
M'ithstanding the tears and entreaties of his mother, to leave 
the country he loved so well. He went thence to the monas- 
tery of Bangor, where he spent many years under the abbot 
Cungall. Some time before the year 590, he and twelve com- 
panions were sent into Gaul, where, owing to the fury of war 
and the negligence of bishops, ecclesiastical discipline had 
become greatly relaxed, and Christian morality almost un- 
known. He went np and down the country, for several years, 
preaching the Gospel and leading both clergy and laity back 
to the practices of Christian virtue, of which he gave so 
many examples in his own life. 

King Gontran, one of the grandsons of Clovis, fearing that 
Columbanus might be tempted to leave the country, offered 
him a place of residence if he would consent to remain. Co- 
lumbanus, yielding to the royal wish, selected as the place of 
abode for himself and his numerous following of disciples, 
the ancient Roman castle of Annegray, where he lived for 
entire weeks without other food than the grass of the fields, 
the bark of the trees, and the berries which the neighboring 

of the sources of the Hist, of Baden, Carlsruhe, 1848, Vol. I. Schaubinger, 
Hist, of the Monnstery of Siickingen, and of St. Pridolin, Our Lady of Hermits, 
1852. Fnedrich, Vol. II., p. 411-439. 



102 Feriod 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

wood supplied. But his disciples increased so rapidly, that, 
in a few years, he was obliged to look about for a larger resi- 
dence. Gontran then presented him with another strong 
castle, named Luxeuil, in the Vogese niountains, at the north- 
ern extremity of the kingdom of Burgundy. 

Thierry governed Burgundy at this time, and with him 
resided his grandmother Brunehault, who, though far ad- 
vanced in age, still loved power and authority, and, fearing 
that if her grandson should marry, she should no longer 
retain her influence, advised him to keep concubines in- 
stead of entering into lawful wedlock. St. Columbanus re- 
proached both her and Thierry with the freedom and 
boldness characteristic of apostolic men, for this shameful 
conduct. lie thus drew upon himself the anger of Brune- 
hault, who ever afterward pursued him with invetei'ate hos- 
tility. At her instigation, Thierry expelled the abbot from 
Luxetiil, A. D. 610, and had him conducted to Besangon. But 
escaping the vigilance of his guards, Columbanus returned 
to Luxeuil, whence he was again expelled and conducted to 
Besangon, thence to Orleans and JSTantes, where he was finally 
put on board a vessel, with orders to return to his own coun- 
try. The vessel, however, having been driven back by con- 
trary winds, went ashore, and remained on the beach for 
three successive days; and at the end of this time, Colum- 
banus and his companions were permitted to disembark, and 
go whither they listed. Columbanus returned through Gaul 
to the kingdom of Austrasia, where he was well received by 
Theodebert, who was at that time engaged in a war against 
his brother Thierry. After preaching the Gospel for some 
time to the Pagan inhabitants of this kingdom, he ascended 
the Ehine from a point below Mayence, till he reached the 
lake of Zurich, made a short stay at Thurgau and Arbon, and 
finally established himself at Brecjenz, on the lake of Con- 
stance. His chief assistant in these missionary labors was 
another Irishman by the name of Oall, as daring and resolute 
as Columbanus himself, well educated and eloquent, and able 
to preach in the German as well as in the Latin language. 

By the battle of Tolbiac (a. d. 612), where his grandfather 
Clovis gained the important victory over the Alemanni over 



§ 157. Christ, in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 103 

a century before, Theodebert lost his kingdom of Austrasia. 
As the country in which Cohambanus had taken refuge, fell 
by this battle into the hands of his enemy, Thierry, he re- 
solved to leave this new field of labor, and cross the Alps, 
into the kingdom of the Lombards. His companion Gall 
remained in Helvetia, continued his apostolic labors, and 
founded there one of the most celebrated monasteries in 
Christendom. 

Having crossed the Alps with only one companion, Colum- 
banus was well received by Agilulf, the Lombard king, who 
bestowed upon him a territory called Bobbio, situated in a 
gorge of the Apennines, between Genoa and Milan. There 
was an old church in this territory dedicated to St. Peter, but 
very much out of repair. Columbanus, notwithstanding his 
age and infirmities, set to work to repair it, and erect a mon- 
astery by its side. But not satisfied with the solitude which 
this retired spot afforded, he transformed a cavern in the side of 
a great rock, on the opposite shore of the Trehbia,\n\o a chapel 
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and here he spent his last 
days in fasting and prayer. He died November 21, a. d. 615. 

As has been stated, Gall, the companion and disciple of St. 
Columbanus, did not go with his master into Lombardy. He 
was stricken down with a fever, and having been i-estored to 
health through the tender care of Willimar of Arbon, he laid 
the foundations of the celebrated monastery of St. Gall, at a 
short distance from the spot where the Rhine falls into the 
lake of Constance, in the small and secluded valley where the 
torrent of Steinach makes its way among a bed of rocks. He 
was assisted in the foundation of this monastery, which was 
destined to exercise so beneficial an influence throughout 
Helvetia, by Gunzo, Duke of TJeberlingen, whose daughter, 
Friedeburga, he had freed from the possession of a demon. 
This princess, who was singularly beautiful, though afiianced 
to Sigebert, the eldest son of Thierry II., withdrew to the 
Church of St. Stephen, and there clinging to the altar, and 
covered with a nun's veil, declared, in presence of her be- 
trothed, her intention of dedicating her virginity to God. 
The prince generously waived his claim, saying: "I yield 



104 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

thee to ray Lord Jesus Christ, the bridegroom whom thou 
preferrest to me." 

Gall refused the bishopric of Constance, which the Duke 
Gunzo pressed upon his acceptance. He also refused the 
prayer of a deputation of Irish monks from Luxeuil, who, in 
the year 625, on the death of Eustace, requested him to be- 
come abbot of that great monastery ; because, as he said, he 
was a stranger to them, and if he accepted their ofier, he 
should be obliged to forsake the Alemanni, who were as yet 
Pagans, or only partially converted. 

He continued to preach the Gospel to the inhabitants of the 
country about the monastery of St. Gall, and at the time of 
his death, which occurred at Arbon, October 16, A. D. 646, 
when he was in the ninety-fifth year of his age, the entire 
country of the Alemanni had become a Christian province.' 

Still later on, St. Pirminius founded the famous monastery 
of Reichenau (Augia Dives), on an island in the lake of Con- 
stance^ (a. d. 720). St. Boniface completed the conversion of 
the inhabitants of these districts. For centuries after their 
foundation, both St. Gall and Reichenau continued to be 
nurseries of art, learning, and piety, and from their cloisters 
numbers of bishops and ecclesiastics went forth to teach and 
govern the Church. The names of Hatto (afterward Bishop of 
'B2ie\e), ReginbertjWakl fried Strabo, Herman the Contracted, and 
others equally illustrious, shed a halo of enduring luster about 
these monasteries.^ 

Churches had also been established at a very early period 

1 His oldest Biography, ed. by Jld. v. Arx, in Pertz, Monumenta Germaniae, 
T. II., and most recently by Meyer v. Knotiau; treated by Waldfried Strabo, vita 
St. Gall. (MabiUon, acta SS. ord. St. Bened. saec. II. and Migne, ser. lat. T. 114); . 
the discourse of St. Gall, delivered at Constance, at the consecration of John, 
in Galland. bibl. T. XII., p. 751; on the fluctuations of writers in fixing the 
year of his death, conf. liefele, p. 296-304. Rettherg, Vol. II., p. 46 sq. Jld. v. 
Arx, Hist, of the Canton St. Gall, ibid. p. 810-813, in 3 vols.; (Bp. Greith) St. 
Gal., the Apostle of the Alemanni, St. Gall, 1864. By the same, The Old Irish 
Church, Preibg. 1867, p. 271 sq. 

2 On the lake of Zill, according to Kraus, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 223. (Te.) 
"The vita St. Pirmini in Moiie, 1. c, Vol. I.; Schonhuth, Chronicle of thu 

former Monastery of Reichenau, Preib. 1836. Staiger, The island of Eeichenau, 
with its Imperial Abbey, Constance, 1860. Koenig, Walafried Strabo (Preibg. 
Diocesan Archives, Vol. III., year 1868). 



§ 157. Christ, m Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 105 

in many of the municipal cities of Austria and Bavaria, such 
as Salzburg (Juvavia), Passait (Castra Batava), Lorch (Laure- 
acum), Hatisbon (Reginum), Petau in Styria (Petavium), Sabi- 
onae (Saben-Brixen), and Trent; but these were all either 
entirely destroyed or defaced, and plundered, during the in- 
cursions of the Bai-barians. 

St. Valentine, a Belgian by birth, having first gone to Rome 
and obtained the apostolic sanction, began, about the j'ear 
440, to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of Passau, 
composed partly of Pagans and partly of Christians who 
had fallen into the Arian heresy. Unable to overcome 
the enmity of both of these classes, he was forced to with- 
draw from their territory, and to give up, for the present, all 
hope of their conversion. He again went to Rome, where he 
was consecrated bishop by the Pope, with instructions that, 
if he should be unable to return to Passau, he might preach 
the Gospel to the inhabitants of any other province accessi- 
ble to him. He is on this accouunt surnamed Hegionarius. 
He again made his appearance at Passau ; but, having been 
treated with great cruelty and expelled the city, he dii-ected 
his steps toward the highlands of the Rhaetian Alps, and, near 
the town of Meran, in the Tyrol, converted many to Chris- 
tianity. He died full of merit, and went to receive the crown 
of his labors, in the year 470.' 

Toward the close of the sixth century, Ingenuinus of Sa- 
bionae carried the light of faith into the countries lying still 
farther to the north. 

St. Severin made his appearance in Pannonia and ISToricum 
almost contemporaneously with St. Valentine, and by his 
presence brought hope and comfort to the harassed and scat- 
tered Chi'istians of these countries. This wonderful and self- 
denying apostle had acquired so great a reputation for holi- 
ness of life that he commanded the respect and reverence of 
the Barbarians themselves, and by his miracles and prophe- 
cies inspired in the inhabitants of the country about Passau 
and Fabiana (Vienna), the theater of his labors, an abiding 
belief in the power of an overruling Providence. Odoacer, 

> Of. Dollinger, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 77 et sq. (Tr.) 



106 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chajoter 1. 



the leader of the Heruli, learned from the words of the Saint 
that he should one day reign upon the throne of the Caesars, 
and Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, on his way through 
the country, turned aside from his direct route, to implore the 
blessing of this man of God. St. Severin died A. d. 482. 

The bishoprics of Salzburg, Ratisbon, and Lorch were 
among those which suffered most from the incursions of the 
Barbarians. 

The Frankish missionaries appear to have been the first to 
announce the Gospel to the JBojoari, or Bavarians, who had 
settled in Noricum and Vindelicia} At the close of the sixth 
century, their cliief, Garibald, the father of Theodolinde, had 
already become a Christian. About the year 580, his rela- 
tive, Theodo the Elder, also a Bavarian chief, while both 
he and his people were yet Pagans, invited Rupert, bishop 
of Wormatia (Worms), to his court at Ratisbon. "When the 
holy bishop had arrived, he commenced to preach the Gospel, 
and had shortly the happiness of receiving into the Church 
the duke, with many of his nobles and people. At Juvavia, 
which was again revived under the name of Salzburg, Rupert 
built a church dedicated to St. Peter, to which he afterward 
added a monastery, and by this means secured the perma- 
nency of the infant Church.^ But, notwithstanding the labors 



'Monumenta Boioa, Monac. 1769-1861, in 37 vols. Rudhart, Most ancient 
Hist, of Bavaria, Hambg. 1841 ; Contzen, Hist, of Bavaria, Munster, 1853, with 
copious Literature. SchuegraJ, Hist, of the Cathedral of Eatisbon, 2 Pts., Ea- 
tisbon, 1848. Niedermayer, Monasticism in Bajuvaria, Landshut, 1859. 

" St. Rupert, according to the Salzburg tradition, came to Bavaria in the first 
half of the sixth century. Since the times of -MahtUon and ''^Hansiz, it is gen- 
erally assumed that he came to Eatisbon in 696, on the invitation of Duke 
Theodo II., in the second year of the reign (695-711) of King Childebert III., 
and that he died between 705-710; according to others, 718. Kocli^Sternfeld 
(On the True Age in which St. Eupert lived, 1850,) and ■■' Friedrich (The True 
Age of St. Eupert, Bambg. 1866) have lately defended the tradition. But GfrS- 
rer (Hist, of the Eeligion of the People, I., p. 280 sq.) and Wattenbach have 
taken sides with Mabillon. Gfrorer has adduced good reasons for his view, that 
Pvupert — who, after Pepin's death (714), on a sudden left Bavaria (716), and 
returned to Worms, where he died — had been forced by the Majordomus upon 
the Bavarian duke. Conf Kraus, Ch. H,, Vol. II., p. 224. (Tb.) There is a 
full account of this controversy in Mahler's Ch. H., ed. by Oarns, Vol. II., p. 
60-67. Zeissberg, Arno, Pirst Archbishop of Salzburg (785-821), Vienna, 1863, 



§ 157. Christ, in Germany and the Adjacent Countries. 107 

of these missionaries, Emmeram of Poitiers, who had formerly 
been a chorepiscopns, must be regarded as the true apostle of 
Bavaria. Having started from his home, in the year 652, 
with the purpose of iireaching the Gospel to the Avari, the 
Pagan inhabitants of Pannonia, he arrived, in the course of 
his journey, at Ratisbon, where the duke Theodo was then 
residing. The duke besought the missionary, instead of pro- 
ceeding further, to undertake the labor of instrncting the in- 
habitants of Bavaria, some of whom had but lately embraced 
the faith, while others still refused to give up the errors of 
Paganism. After three years^ of unceasing toil, the holy 
bishop resolved upon making a pilgrimage to Rome; but, be- 
fore setting out, he made an effort to reclaim Ota, the daugh- 
ter of the duke, from a life of shame. These kind offices 
brought upon himself the auger of her in whose behalf they 
were tendered. Ota represented to her brother, Landpert, 
that she had become pregnant by the bishop, and this in- 
formation so incensed the young prince that he took a hloody 
vengeance upon the supposed author of his sister's shame.^ 
But, his innocence having been clearly established, his body 
was at once brought back to Ratisbon and placed in a monas- 
tery founded in his honor and bearing his name. 

The Prankish monk Corhinian founded the church of 
Preisingen, and became its first bishop. He died a. d. 
730.3 

St. Boniface completed the conversion of Bavaria, and in- 
troduced into the Church of that country a permanent eccle- 
siastical organization. 

After the erection of the kingdom of Thuringia by the 
Pranks, in the year 527, the seeds of the Gospel were sown 

1 According to Kraus, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 224, and DoUinger, 1, c, p. 80, (Tr.) 
''Vita St. Emmerani episcopi Frisingens. auctore Aribone in Bolland. acta SS. 
mens. Sept., T. VI., p. 474-486; Arnolfus Vohburg, de miraculis beati Emmerani 
libb. II. (Canisius-Basnage, 1. c, T. III., Pt. 1, p. 105 sq.) in Periz, monum. 
Germ., T. IV., p. 543-574. Conf. Reiiberg, Cli. H. of Germ., Vol. II. FrUd- 
rich, Ch. H. of Germ., Vol. II. 

^Aribo (fourth bp. of Preisingen, 764-784), vita St. Corbiniani (Bolland. acta 
SS. d. 8. m. Sept.) ; according to these and other sources : Sulzbeck, Life of St. 
Corbinian, Katisbon, 1843. 



108 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

in the couutry now known as Franconia^ by the Irish mis- 
sionary, Bishop Kilian (Kyllena) and his companions, the 
priest Coloman and the deacon Totnan. Duke Guzbert and 
his retainers embraced the faith at "Wurzburg; but Kilian, 
like another St. John the Baptist, having courageously re- 
buked the duke for incestuous intercourse with Geilana, his 
brother's widow, so incensed this woman against him that 
she contrived the death of both him and his two companions 
(a. d. 689). Between this time and the year 742, when St. 
Boniface erected the see of Wiirtzburg, nearly every vestige 
of Christianity disappeared from the land. 

Prom the fourth century onward, there were many episco- 
pal sees existing, and in a flourishing condition, on the banks 
of the Ehine ; as, for example, those of Cologne, Mentz, Worms, 
Spire, and Strasbiirg, then known as Argentoratum ; on the 
banks of the Moselle and Meuse, those of Treves, Metz, Toul, 
and Verdun; and in Belgium, those of Tongres, which was 
transferred to Maastricht, a. d. 452; Tournaij and Arras, the 
latter of which was, in 545, transferred to Cambrai.^ All 
these suffered more or less from the incursions of the Barba- 
rians, and some so severely that they ceased to exist. 

About the year 600, St. Goar, a hermit of Aquitaine, in 
whose honor the monastery of St. Goar was built, set to work 
to restore Christianity along the banks of the Ehine, and 
achieved considerable success in his undertaking. 

Between the years 623 and 663, Bishop Cunibert, whose 
efforts were ably seconded by King Dagobert I., labored with 
marked success at Cologne. In the reign of Charlemagne, 
this bishopric passed from the jurisdiction of Mentz, and was 
raised to the dignity of a metropolitan see. 

In the year 630, St. Amandus, bishop of Strasburg, uuder- 

^Sagtttaru antiquitates Gentilismi et Christianismi, Thuring. Jen. 1685, 4to. 
The vita St. Kiliani {Canisius-Basnage, 1. c, T. III., Pt. 1, p. 163 so.) 

^Por full details on all these bishoprics, see Friedrich, Ch. H. of Germ., Vol. 
II., p. 167-391. TGemei, The Cathedral of Spire (surnamed the "Emperor's 
Dome"), being a topographical and historical monography, with two lithogra- 
phies, 3 vols., Mentz, 1826 (containing also the hist, of the bishopric). Remling, 
The Bishops of Spire, ]ilentz, 1852. t Werner, The Cathedral of Mentz, togethel 
with the Hist, of the Bishops of Mentz, Mentz, 1827 sq., 3 vols. 



§ 158. Christ, among the Frisians — Eeverses in Spain. 109 

took the conversion of the Pagan inhabitants of Belgium ; 
but, as they stubbornly and persistently repelled every attempt 
of the missionary, he had recourse to a more summary, if a 
less convincing method, and obtained from Dagobert I. a decree 
by which all were commanded to receive baptism and em- 
brace the faith. But Amandus, wisely judging that no suc- 
cess could be permanent which was obtained by force, made 
no further use of the royal decree than to secure a respectful 
hearing; and, by dint of ceaseless toil, enduring patience, 
and indomitable perseverance, combated single-handed among 
the rude Barbarians till he finally, after having borne all man- 
ner of indignities and cruelties with heroic fortitude, over- 
came the most obstinate resistance, and converted to the tru e 
faith the inhabitants of the countries about Tournay and 
Ghent. 

In the year 646, he undertook, in obedience to the wish of 
King Siegbert II., the government of the diocese of Maes- 
tricht; but, disheartened by the opposition of his clergy, who 
refused to submit to the salutary discipline which he had in- 
troduced, he, three years later, requested permission from 
Pope Martin to I'esign his of&ce. His request was at first 
denied. He then set out for Home, where he was more suc- 
cessful. Leaving Rome, he visited other countries, and finally 
returned to the monastery of Elnon, near Tournay, where he 
died, A. D. 679 or 685. 

St. Omer, or Audomar, by birth an Aleman, a contempo- 
rary of Amandus, preached the Gospel to the idolatrous 
Morini, many of whom he baptized, and founded among 
them the Abbey of St. Bertin. Contemporary with these 
two saints were St. Livin, an Irishman, who spread the faith 
among the Brabantins, by whom he was martyred (a. d. 656), 
and Bishop Eligius of ]S"oyons, who had previously been a 
goldsmith. 

§ 158. Christianity among the Frisians — Reverses of the Chris- 
tians in Spain. 

The work of converting this rude and savage people was 
attended with almost insuperable diflaculties. It was first 



110 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

undertaken by the noble Eligius ^ (f 659), and, later on, by the 
Anglo-Saxon Wilfrid, Bishop of York,^ who, in one of his 
journeys to Eome, was carried to the north by an adverse 
wind, and landed on the shores of the low and marshy coun- 
try of the Frisians, among whom, with the consent of their 
king, Adalgisus, he immediately commenced to preach the 
faith of Christ. He remained with them during the winter 
of 678-679, and was amply repaid for his toil; for, before 
his departure, he had the happiness of baptizing nearly all 
the chiefs and thousands of the people. This mission, how- 
ever, became still more successful, after Pepin of Heristal 
had reduced the Frisians to the authority of the Frankish 
rule. 

WilUbrord,^ an Anglo-Saxon priest, who had been educated 
in Ireland, assured of the protection of Pepin, was sent to 
labor as a missionary among the Frisians by Pope Sergius, in 
the year 692. He established the bishopric of Utrecht (Wilta- 
burg), and was consecrated bishop at Eome under the name 
of Clement. Suidbert, one of the most zealous and energetic 
of his fellow-laborers, preached the Gospel to the Boructua- 
rians, who dwelt along the right bank of the Ehine. But 
being obliged to give up this mission when the country 
was invaded by the Saxons, he withdrew to an island in^the 
Ehine, near Diisseldorf, presented to him by Pepin, and there 
founded the monastery Kaiserswerth. He died a. d. 713. 

In the year 712, Wul/ram, Archbishop of Sens, encouraged 
by the success which followed the labors of Willibrord, un- 
dertook the conversion of those portions of the territory of 
the Frisians that had not yet been subjected by the Franks. 
Radbot, their barbarous chief, having been informed, that, if 
he were fortunate enough to get to Heaven, "he should not 

1 Neander, Memorab. III. 1, p. 108 sq. His biography by hia scholar, Audoen 
{rIAdidru, Spicileg. T. II.) 

2 Vita St. Wilfridi ab Eddio conscript., c. 27. Conf. Beda Venerab. h. e. V. 10. 
Fa'Mus, c. 25. (■Tk.) 

" Alcuin's Life of Willibrord in Mahill. acta SS. ord. St. Bened. saec. III., Pt. I., 
p. 001. Beda,\.c.Y.l2. Conf. Boitemf. acta SS. ad 1. m. ilartii. Alberd. Thijm, 
Life of St. Willibrord, transL from the Dutch into German, by Trass, Marnier, 
1864. Conf. Tiibff. Quart. 1864, n. 2. Rettberg, VoL II., p. 517. 



§ 158. Christ, among the Frisians — Reverses in Spain. Ill 

enjoy the company of his Pagan fellow-countrymen," refused 
to receive baptism.^ 

Willibrord, who, though he labored with the zeal of a true 
apostle, and had already pushed his conquests as far as Den- 
mark, did not succeed in bringing his work to a successful 
conclusion till after the death of this chief, which occurred in 
the year 719, when Charles Martel subdued the remaining 
portions of the Frisian territory heretofore independent oi 
Frankish authority. This event facilitated the work of the 
missionaries, who shortly enjoyed the happiness of seeing all 
the Frisians pass into the one fold of Christ. Bishop Willi- 
brord died A. D. 739. 

Charles Martel also enjoys the honor of having, by his 
heroic bravery and dauntless courage, checked the rapid con- 
quests and broken the menacing domination of Islamism. 

The Arabs, inspired by a blind fanaticism, went on in a 
destructive career of conquest, till they finally subdued and 
took possession of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and in the 
year 707, under the Ommaiades, of the northwestern prov- 
inces of Africa. The Crescent now seriously threatened 
Christian Europe. The sons of king Witiza (a. d. 701-710), 
after their father had been dethroned by a number of power- 
ful and discontented nobles, and Hoderic set up in his place, 
formed with their nncle, Oppas, Archbishop of Seville, Count 
Julian, whose family Poderic had dishonored by his disso- 
luteness, and their numerous partisans, a formidable coalition 
against the intruded prince, and, in order the better to carry 
out their designs, called to their aid the Arabs of Africa. 
Musa, the Saracen governor of Mauritania, readily acceded 
to their wishes, and sent into Spain an army of Arabs and 
Moors, under the command of Tarik, one of his ablest gen- 
erals. Roderic collected all his available forces, and met the 
enemy at Xerez, in Andalusia, where he was completely de- 
feated (a. d. 711). Musa, having shortly after arrived in 
Spain with fresh forces, took the command in person, and, 
dividing his army into three bodies, overran and subdued the 

' Krauss states (Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 226) that this assertion is probably an 
invention of some of the later Predestinarians. 



112 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. Chapter L 

whole Country, with the exception of the northern provinces 
(a. d. 712-714). 

Ahderrhahman, the Viceroy of Spain, entertaining the idea 
of iiniting both the East and the West under one govern- 
ment, crossed the Pyrenees at the head of the Arabs, and de- 
scended into the plains of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He had 
already subjugated the southern portions of France, and 
pushed his conquests as far north as the river Loire, when 
Charles ilartel, who came up with the invader between Tours 
and Poitiers, totally defeated him in a pitched battle (a. d. 
732], put an end to his victorious career, and dealt a death- 
blow to the power of the Arabs in France. 

In Spain, those of the Christians who still continued to live 
among the Arabs, and hence called Mozarabiaus, or Mixed 
Arabs, were barely tolerated, always regarded with distrust, 
and compelled to submit to the most severe exactions.^ Those 
Christians, on the contrary, who had retired into the mount- 
ains of Asturias and Biscay, early asserted their independence, 
and little by little founded commonwealths and kingdoms, 
which, at first, defied, and then gradually and successfully 
contested the Arab domination in Spain. 

§ 159. Labors of St. Boniface. 

BonifacH epp. ed. N. Serarlus, Mogunt. 1605 and 1609, max. bibL T. XIII., p. 
70 sq.; ed. Wiirdtwein, Mogant. 1789 foL; ed. Giles, Oxon. 1846, 2 T., very 
defective — as, likewise, in Migne, ser. lat. T. 89 ; now with greater critical accu- 
racy — along witli the vitae et passio Bonifacii, IaiIU epp., and many other items, 
in ^Jaffe, monumenta Moguntina, Berol. 1866 {T. III. of the Bibl. rer. Germ.), 
letters, in German, with the Life of St. Boniface, Fulda, 1842; complete works 
transl. into German and illustrated, by Eiilb, Eatisbon, 1856, 2 vols. WWbaldi 
(about 783) et Othlonil vita St. Bonifacii (about 1100), (Mabillon, Acta SS. ord. 
St. Bened., T. II., III.; Bollandi Acta SS. m. Junii, T. I., p. 452 sq.; Pertz, 
Monum.T. II., p. 331 sq.) Serarii res Moguntiacae, Mogunt. 1604, ed. Johannes, 
Ficf. 1722. t^'Seiiers, Boniface, Apostle of the Germans, Mentz, 1845. '\Reln- 
erding, St. Boniface, Wurzbg. 1855. Mailer, Bonifacius, eene kerk-historische 
Btudie, Amsterd. 1869 sq., 2 vols. See Reusch's Theological Journal of Litera- 
ture, nro. 25, year 1870. Eetfberg, Vol. II., p. 307-372. \BinteHm, Hist, of 
Germ. Counc, Vol. II. ^'Hefele, Hist, of Counc, Vol. III., p. 458-549. Od»- 
ner. Annals of the prankish Kingdom under Pepin, Lps. 1871. 

The many and various efl"orts to introduce Christianity into 



1-Aschhach, Hist, of the Ommaiades in Spain, Frankfort, 1829, 2 vols. 



§ 159. Labors of St. Boniface. 113 

Germany, and to establish it upon a permanent basis, would 
never have been crowned with complete success, had there 
not existed some common bond of union among the different 
churches scattered up and down the country, and some com- 
mon center to give unity and system to individual exertion. 
To this end, God raised up a man, distinguished for force of 
character and gentleness of disposition, and remarkable for 
prudence and patient perseverance, who not only gave to the 
Church in Germany a complete organization and insured her 
permanence, by establishing the most intimate relations be- 
tween her and the Supreme Head of Christendom, but also 
carried the light of the Gospel among those German tribes 
which had hitherto remained both Pagan and barbarous. 
This was the Anglo-Saxon priest Winfried. Bo'-n of respect- 
able parents, at Kirton, in Devonshire, in the kingdom of 
"Wessex, in the year 680 (685?), he was, from his tenderest 
years, drawn to a monastic life, and was educated and trained 
in spiritual life in the monasteries of Exeter and Nutcell, 
then the most flourishing of the monastic establishments 
of England. Feeling that it was his vocation to spend his 
life among Pagans, laboring for their conversion, he set out 
in the year 716 upon his first voyage as a missionary, and 
landed in the country of the Frisians. But war having 
broken out between King Radbot and Charles Martel, it be- 
came impossible for him to prosecute his designs, and he 
again crossed the sea, and returned to his monastery. Hav- 
ing, however, firmly resolved to spend his life as a mission- 
ary, laboring for the weal of others, he again crossed the 
channel in the year 718, and, following the example of so 
many of his Anglo-Saxon predecessors, set out for Rome, 
with letters of recommendation from Daniel, Bishop of Win- 
chester, to obtain from Gregory H., the then reigning Pope, 
his authority^ to preach the Gospel among the heathen. He 
gave the first proofs of his devotion to the Church and to the 
cause in which he was embarked, in Thnringia; but, after the 
death of Eadbot, he returned to the Frisians (a. d. 719), and 

'This authorization is given in Wiirdtwein, ep. 2, and in Serarius, ep. 118. 
VOL. II — 8 



114 Feriod 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Cha'pter 1. 

having placed himself under the authority of Willibrord, 
Bishop of Utrecht, set to work with enthusiastic zeal, and 
had the gratification of seeing his labors crowned with com- 
plete success. But as the Papal appointment indicated Ger- 
many as the theater of his labors, Winfried returned to Hesse 
and Thuringia, in 722, and, passing through Treves, turned 
aside from his direct route to visit St. Adele, at Pfalzel (Pala- 
tiokim), a short distance from that city, where he fell in with 
Gregory, a kinsman of the saint's, and a worthy descendant 
of King Dagobert III., whose services he secured for the 
Church. At Amoeneburg, in Upper Hesse, he received into 
the Church the princes Dierolf and Detdig, and founded a 
monastei-y on the banks of the Ohm, where he also baptized 
many thousands of the Pagan inhabitants. 

Having sent a "report of his progress to Pope Gregory, he 
was called to Rome by that pontiff (a. d. 722), where, having 
made his Profession of Paith and taken the oath of allegiance^ 

1 This oath, which is given in Othlo, lih. I., cap. 19, is similar to that taken by 
the suhurbicarian bishops: "Promitto ego Bonifacius, Dei gratia Episcopus, tibi 
beate Petre, Apostolorum princeps, Vicarioque tuo beato Gregorio Papae, et 
successoribus ejus per P. et ]?. et Sp. St., Trinitatem inseparabilem, et hoc sacra/- 
tissimum corpus tuum, me omnem fidem et puritatem sanctae fidei cathol. 
exhibere, et in unitate ejusdem fidei, Deo operante, persistere, in quo omnia 
christianorum salus esse sine dubio comprobatur, nullo modo me contra uni- 
tatem communis et universalis ecclesiae, suadente quopiam, consentire, sed, ut 
dLxi, fidem et puritatem meam atque concursum tibi et utilitatibus tuae eccle- 
siae, cui a Domino Deo potestas ligandi solvendique data est, et praedicto Vicario 
tuo atque successoribus ejus per omnia exhibere. Sed et si cognovero Antistites 
contra instituta antiqua SS. Patrum conversari, cum eis nullam habere commu- 
nionem aut conjunctionem ; sed magis, si valuero prohibere, prohibebo ; si minus, 
hoc fideliter statim domno meo Apostolico renuntiabo. Quod si, quod absit, 
contra hujus professionis meae seriem aliquid facere quolibet modo, seu ingenio, 
vel oceasione tentavero, reus inveniar in aeterno judicio, ultionem Ananiae et 
Saphirae incurram, qui vobis etiam de rebus propriis fraudem facere praesiun- 
Berunt. Hoc autem indiculum Sacramenti ego Bonifacius exiguus Episcopus 
manu propria scripsi, atque ponens supra sacratissimum corpus St. Petri, ita ut 
praescriptum, Deo teste et judice, feci sacramentum, quod et conservare pro- 
mitto." This solemn engagement did not prevent Boniface from being fearless 
and outspoken when there was a proper occasion, or others from finding fault 
with what displeased them at Eome. Boniface, for example (Ep. 51. ad Zachar.), 
complains, that at Eome the ecclesiastical canons are not observed ; that super- 
stitious and sacrilegious practices are not suppressed; and affirms that such 
negligence cools the love and weakens the obedience due to the Apostolic See. 



§ 159. Labors of St. Boniface. 115 

to the Roman Catholic Church, he was consecrated bishop 
of all the churches of Germany (episcopus regionarius), and 
provided with letters recommending him to the good oiEces 
of Charles Martel (a. d. 723). It was on this occasion that 
he received from the Pope the name of Boniface. Thus 
having received for his mission the sanction of the Apostolic 
See, and assured of the protection of Charles Martel, he com- 
menced his labors, and in a short time succeeded in convert- 
ing nearly all the inhabitants oi Hesse and Thuringia. 

The " Thunder Oak of Geismar," near Fritzlar, had been 
long an object of religious reverence among the Germans, 
and was regarded as a symbol of their heathen worship, and 
an abiding evidence of their faith in their gods. They were 
appalled, when they beheld Boniface fearlessly attacking it 
and felling it to the ground, that Thor, to whom it was dedi- 
cated, did not avenge the insult; and, reasoning as rude 
and primitive people are apt to do, that a god who was 
helpless in his own defense, could scarcely be relied on by 
others, entirely gave up faith in the deities they had so long 
and so abjectly honored. Boniface constructed of the wood 
'of this oak a chapel, which he dedicated to St. Peter. He 
made strenuous and assiduous eflbrts to eftace every trace of 
Paganism, and combated the heretics Adelbert and Clement, 
who were engaged in spreading error and unbelief wherever 
aa occasion oftered. He gave his chief care to the establish- 
ment of monasteries,^ that of Ohrdruf being one of his first 
foundations. As the labors of his new missions were daily in- 
creasing, he called upon his friends in England to come to his 
assistance, and of those who answered his call, Burchard, 
Lullas, Willibald, his brother Wunibald, and Wita are the best 
known. Many female religious also came over, among whom 
were the learned Cunigilde and her daughter Berathgit, Cuni- 
trnde, and Thecla, who belonged to the nunneries of Kitzingen 
and Ochsenfurt, on the Main ; Lioba, who was at Bischofs- 



^Othlo, 1. c. I. 30; also in Willibald, c. 8, it is reported: Ex Britanniae parti- 
bus servorum Dei plurima ad eum tam leotorum quam etiam scriptorum (copy- 
ists) aliarumque artium eruditorum virorum congregationis convenerat multi- 
tude. 



116 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

heim, on the banks of the Tauber; and "Walpurgis, at Hei- 
denheim, in the Saulafield.' 

In the year 731, he sent a messenger to E.ome to signify 
his submission and allegiance to the new Pope, Gregory III., 
the successor of Gregory II. The same messenger carried 
back to Boniface the archiepiscopal pallium, -with instructions 
from the Pope to consecrate new bishops wherever the num- 
ber of the faithful should have so increased as to require 
them. 

Boniface, after having erected churches at Fritzlar and 
Amoeneburg, and made a pastoral visit through Bavaria, in 
the course of which he fell in with his excellent disciple, 
Sturm, journeyed to Eome for the third time (a. d. 738). 
Having returned from Rome invested with increased powers, 
he paid a second visit to Bavaria, in the year 739, and, at the 
request of Duke Odilo, completed the organization of the 
Church of that country, and established the four bishoprics of 
Salzburg, Freisingen, Ratisbon, and Passau. Nivilo Avas al- 
ready the legally constituted bishop of Passau, and Boniface 
appointed to the other three sees occupants in every way 
worthy of their exalted dignity. He also created a fifth bish- 
opric at Eichstddt, to which he appointed Willibald. The 
Bavarian Synod, convoked by Boniface in the year 740, 
contributed materially to strengthen this ecclesiastical organ- 
ization. 

Boniface now established bishoprics at Wurzburg, in Fran- 
conia, at Buraburg, in Hesse, and at Erfurt, in Thuringia, to 
which he appointed respectively Burchard,Wita, andAdalar. 

After the death of Charles Martel (a. d. 741), the adminis- 
tration of the kingdom devolved upon his two sons, Carlo- 
man and Pepin, under whom the Church increased in pros- 
perity in Austrasia, Alemannia, and Franconia. 

Archbishop Boniface, availing himself of this favorable 
state of affairs, and acting on the instructions of Pope Zach- 
ary, and at the request of Carloman, convoked, a. d. 742, the 
first so-called German Synod, at which seven canons were 
passed for the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline, which 

^^Zell, Lioba and the pious Anglo-Saxon -women, Freiburg, 1860. 



§ 159. Labors of St. Boniface. 117 

had been very much relaxed, particularly among priests, 
monks, and nuns, and for the suppression of Pagan practices. 
It was enacted that in future synods should be held annually. 
Hence we hear of a second one having been held in either 
the year 743 or 745, at Lipiinae (Liftinae, Lestines, in Hai- 
nault), at which Boniface again endeavored, with character- 
istic energy, to provide measures for the suppression of Pagan 
practices, a long list of which is given in the profession of 
faith and formula of abjuration. This instrument prescribes 
" a renunciation of the gods Thunar and Wodan, of the 
Saxon god Odin, and of all sorcerers and their associates."' 

Boniface also instructed the clergy to use the Genna.n lan- 
(luage upon certain occasions; as, for example, in teaching 
the people particular prayers, in reading the epistles and Gos- 
pels, and in giving homilies on them, and in reciting such of 
the prayers belonging to the administration of the sacraments 
as are not deemed of essential importance. 

So great was the influence and authority of Boniface, at 
this time, that Pepin requested him to restore faith and mor- 
ality to the Church of Neustria, or the western kingdom of 
the Franks, where ecclesiastical discipline had been greatly 
relaxed and serious errors crept in. Boniface commenced his 
work by convoking the Synod of Soissons (a. d. 744), one of 
the canons of which prescribes that synods shall he annually 
held, that thus measures may be provided to secure the sal- 
vation of the people, and to prevent the rise of heresy. The 
reformation so auspiciously commenced was still further ad- 
vanced by a general synod of the whole Frankish kingdom, 
in the year 745, but at what place is not known, which de- 
posed GevjiUeb, bishop of Mentz, because he had assassinated 
a Saxon,^ and condemned Clement and Adelbeit as heretics. 

In the year 742, Boniface commenced a work which he had 
very much at heart, and in which he was ably seconded by 
Sturm, a young Baravian, whose education had been intrusted 

^Binierim, German Councils, Vol. II., p. 17 et sq., and 117 et sq. Hefele, Vol. 
III., p. 464. 

^ Gewtlieb, like Milo of Treves, was raised to the episcopal office and dignity, 
though he was but a rude soldier, and spent his days of leisure in following tha 
chase. Krais, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 228. 



118 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

to him, and who was the most beloved of all his disciples. 
This was the erection of the monastery of Fulda, which, 
when completed, was placed under the charge of Sturm, and, 
like St. Gall and Reichenau, was for a long time the nursery 
in whicli the bishops of Germany were educated and trained, 
and the home of the arts and sciences. It was the custom of 
l3ouiface to visit this establishment yearly, and to spend here 
a few days of quiet and relaxation from his great labors. 

Boniface clearly foresaw that the permanency and good 
order of these institutions required some central authority, 
and as he had already received the archiepiscopal pallium 
from the Pope, though he had not yet fixed upon a place of 
residence, he resolved to establish his metropolitan see at 
Mentz, rendered vacant by the deposition of Gewilieb. Had 
he not been called to this see by an assembly of the nation, 
he would very probably have fixed his residence at Cologne, 
which he much preferred to Mentz, on account of its prox- 
imity to his beloved Frisians. Pope Zacliary confirmed this 
choice, and raised ^lentz to metropolitan rauk, with author- 
ity not alone over those sees established by Boniface himself, 
such as "Wiirtzburg, Eichstadt, Buraburg, and Erfurt, but also 
over those of Utrecht, Tongres, Cologne, Worms, and Spire. 
But the sees of Buraburg and Erfurt did not retain long their 
importance, and finally became parts of the dioceses of Pader- 
born and Mentz ; while Cologne, on the contrary, was raised 
to metropolitan rank, and Utrecht made suffragan to it. 

Boniface, though giving much time and thought to the 
administration of these dioceses, and to the holding of coun- 
cils,' did not neglect other affairs of importance. He clearly 
saw that bishops, to possess some sort of protection against 
che violence of kings and the insolence of nobles, should 
enjoy a-certain political consideration and prerogatives which 
all would recognize and respect, and hence he exerted him- 
self successfully to have them created spiritual peers of the 
Empire. Shortly after this event, Childeric UL, the last of 
the worthless Merovingian kings, was deposed by an assembly 



1 Those at Diiren, a. d. 747 and 748. It is also probable that the Synod of 
Cloveshove, in England, a. d. 747, was held at his suggestion. 



§ 159. Labors of St. Boniface. 119 

of the nation, held at Soissons, and retired into a monastery. 
Pepin, who already possessed and exercised the power and 
authority, if he did not enjoy the title of king, was chosen to 
succeed him, and was consecrated by Boniface, who had been 
commissioned by the Pope to perform the office (a. d. 752).' 

Boniface was not indeed insensible that years of toil and 
hardship were beginning to tell npon him; but, for all that, 
he still possessed all the ardor and generous resolution of 
younger days, and now, in his old age, determined to carry 
out the vow he had made in his youth, of converting the 
Frisians to Christianity. Por this purpose he sought and 
obtained permission from the Pope to resign his archiepisco- 
pal see in favor of Lidhis, one of his most distinguished dis- 
ciples, and, in the year 755, set out on his journey to Fries- 
land with the conviction strong upon him that he should 
never again return to the friends with whom he was parting. 
He was accompanied by Eoban, Bishop of Utrecht, three 
priests, three deacons, and four monks. They had already 
baptized many thousands of the Frisians and formed some 
Christian communities, when an end was put to their labors 
by the barbarity of some Pagan Frisians. Boniface had 
taken a position at Dokkum, beyond the Zuyder Zee, where 
he had made arrangements to administer the sacrament of 
confirmation, on the great feast of Pentecost, to those who 
had already been baptized. While waiting their coming, he 
and his companions, to the number of fifty-two, were sur- 
rounded and put to death by a band of unconverted Frisians 
(June 5, 755). Boniface had forbidden his followers to make 
any resistance, and all quietly awaited their fate, and went to 
obtain the martyr's crown. Boniface was in the seventy-fifth 
year of his age, and the greater part of his life had been spent 
in the service of Him to whom he gave this last and supreme 
token of his love. 

The churches of Utrecht, Mentz, and Pulda disputed for 
the possession of the body of this glorious martyr, which, 
according to his own request, was buried in the monastery 

1 It has, however, been conclusively proven that Boniface had nothing what- 
ever to do in this matter. Kraus, Ch. H., Vol, II., p. 228. (Tk.) 



120 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

of Fulda, the most cherished of all his religious founda- 
tions.^ 

The Roman name of Bonifacius, bestowed by the Pope 
upon the Anglo-Saxon, Winfried, at his consecration, has been 
one of incalculable import to Germany. The Protestant pro- 
fessor Leo has a very just remark relative to St. Boniface. 
" Boniface," says he, " has contributed incomparably more to 
mtellectual development in Germany, and, as a consequence, 
to Germans, than any single one of all the later German 
kings." 

The spirit of Boniface, which his disciples Sturm., abbot of 
Fulda; Gregory, abbot of Utrecht, and Burkhard, Bishop of 
"Wiirzburg, had inherited, long continued to exercise a marked 
and beneficial influence upon the destinies of this great 
church. 

§ 160. The Conversion of the Saxons. 

Annalea Guelferbytani (769-805) in Pertz, II. Altfridi vita Ludgeri, eppi. 
Memegardefordensis, t809. Foetae Saxonis, Annales de gestis Karoli 31. (771- 
814), Einhardi Annales. (Te.) 

Meinders, de Btatu rel. et reip. sub Carolo jM. et Ludov. Pio in Saxon. Lemg. 
1711, 4to. ClavSr, Saxonia inferior antiqua, gentilis et Christiana, i. e. Ancient, 
Pagan, and Christian Lower Saxony, etc., Goslar, 1714 fol. Strunk, S. S., "West- 
phalia sacra, ed. Gibers, Paderhorn, 1854 sq. Zlmmermann, de mutata Saxo- 
num religione, Darmst. 1839. t Welier, Introd. of Christianity into TVestphalia, 
Munster, 1838. Jlonumenta Paderbornensia, etc. (by Liber Earo de FUrsten- 
ierg, Prince-Bishop there), Amst. 1672; in German, Denkmale des Landes Pa- 
derborn von Perd. Preiherr von Purstenberg, Paderborn, 1844. FJrhard, Keg. 
hist. Westfal. llonast. 1847-1851. Bottger, Intr. of Christ, into Saxony, by 
Charlemagne, Hanover, 1859. EeUberg, Ch. H. of Germ., Vol. II., p. 382-485. 
Siemer, 1. c. Vol. VI. 

The Saxons, a brave and warlike people, possessing neither 
kings nor cities, and embracing the Westphalians, Angles, 
and Eastphalians, opposed a long and most determined resist- 
ance to Christianity. Moreover, the means employed to effect 
their conversion retarded rather than accelerated it. The first at- 



' Codex diplomaticus Puldensis, ed. Dronke, Cassel, 1850, with Eegister by 
Schminke, Cassel, 1862. G. Zimmermann, de rerum Puldensium primordiis dis- 
aertatio, Gissae, 1841. Cf. lieitberg, Vol. I., p. 370 sq. Schwarz, On the Pounda- 
tion and Primordial History of the Monastery of Fulda, Programme of Fulda, 
1856. 



§ 160. The Conversion of the Saxons. 121 

tempt to convert them was made, toward the close of the 
seventh century, by the two Anglo-Saxon brothers JEwald, 
surnamed the Black and the White. If they did not reap a 
harvest of sonls as the fruit of their labors, they obtained for 
themselves the reward of the martyr's crown. 

A doctrine which taught them to despise the world and its 
pleasures, and coming to them through the Frankish Empire, 
which tliey tlioroughly hated, found but little favor among 
this rude and licentious people. However, the efforts of a few 
missionaries were crowned witli partial success. Such were 
St. Lebuin, who died a. d. 773,' and Gregory of Utrecht, whose 
work was considerably facilitated by the victories of Pepiu 
the Short, who conquered the Saxous in the year 753. But, 
as the Saxons still continued to make predatory incursions into 
tlie territories of the Empire of the Franks, the latter deter- 
mined to complete their subjugatioii by force of arms. Sensi- 
ble, however, that as long as this rude people remained at- 
tached to their errors, their promises of peace would be pre- 
carious and their acts of submission delusive, the Franks 
forced them to profess Christianity and receive bajptisni. After 
the year 772, when Charlemagne entered seriously upon the 
work of subjugating them, this policy was again taken up 
and prosecuted with renewed vigor. It was continued, with- 
out interruption and with untiring perseverance, for a period 
of thirty-three years, and was uniformly resisted with the 
most hearty and determined obstinacy.^ 

Charlemagne inaugurated this religious war by demolish- 
ing the Irminsal, or Column of Irmin,' in which Irmin was 

^Passio SS. Ewaldorum, auct. Beda Venerab. in h. e. Anglor. V. 10. — Vita 
St. Lebuini Frisor. et Westfal. apostoli auct. Huibaldo (anno 918-976). Strunh- 
GUfers, T. II., p. 19 sq. Rettherg, Vol. II., pp. 405, 536. 

2 Funh, On the Subjugation of the Saxons under Charlemagne. {Schlosser, 
Archives of Hist, and Lit. 1833, Vol. IV., p. 293 sq.) Justus Moser, Hist, of 
Osnabriick, J 34, Vol. I., p. 198. Compare also Leo, Lectures on German His- 
tory. He says : " Charles raged against Saxon Paganism, not because it was a 
religion altogether different from the Christian, but because it was associated 
with the most atrocious horrors, and because its followers were irreconcilable 
adversaries of the Prankish Empire." Vol. I., pp. 503, 498. 

^ Jacob Grimm, Jrmenstrasse and Jrmensaule; or. The Koad and Pillar of 
Arminius, Vienna, 1815. Hagen, Irmin , Breslau, 1817, in Clavor, 1. c. fol. 35 



122 Period 2. E-poch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 1. 

represented as sustaining the universe. The figure was likely 
meant to combine the idea of God, one and invisible, and 
the memory of the popular hero, Herman. Charlemagne, 
being possessed of an idea that he was an instrument in the 
hands of God, and had a duty to avenge the insults offered 
to His Church, refused to listen to the prudent counsel of his 
friend Alcuin, and of Arno, Archbishop of Salzburg, who told 
him that the " Saxons should be persuaded to enter the Church 
from motives of conviction, and not be forced to do so by 
violence," and that it would be more becoming in him "to 
conduct himself as an Apostle than as a gatherer of tithes." 
He refused to give up the policy he had adopted, but it is 
more than likely that his desire to rid himself of an implaca- 
ble enemy and a dangerous neighbor may have given an im- 
pulse to religious zeal. 

Some hopes were entertained of the conversion of the en- 
tire nation when the chiefs Wittekind and Alboin, after their 
defeat in 785, consented to receive baptism. But this hope, 
never very full of promise, vanished entirely after the year 793. 
The rule of the Franks was so harsh and oppressive, and the 
ecclesiastical tithes collected, with such exactness and rigor, that 
the Saxons rose in open revolt, and put an end, for the 
time being, to all hopes of converting them to Christianity. 
Charles was under the impression that the tithes could not be 
remitted, because their payment was 'prescribed by divine ordi- 
nance. 

But, in the year 805, when the Saxons were completely 
subdued, and submitted, once for all, to the rule of the Franks, 
there was a reasonable ground of hope that now, at least, the 
Church had obtained a solid and permanent footing in the 
north of Germany. But if Christianity finally secured a 
triumph, it was a triumph which cost many a bloody struggle 
and called forth all the genius and energy of Charlemagne. 

It was amid such difliculties as these that churches were 



sq. Rettberg, Vol. II., p. 385. Hoelscher, de Irmini Dei natura nominisque 
origine, Bonn, 1865. According to the Journal of the Westphalian Historical 
Society, Yol. VIII., the column of Irmin, destroyed by Charlemagne in 772, 
■was no more than the trunk of a tree remaining of the sacred grove of Tan- 
fana 



§ 160. The Conversion of the Saxons. 128 

setup, monasteries and convents founded, and bishoprics estab- 
lished. Among the bishoprics were Osnabruclc,^ Milnster, Pader- 
born, Minden, Bremen, Verden, Hcdberstadif to which may be 
added those that came into existence later on, under Louis le 
Debonnaire, as the bishopric of HildesJieinv' and the important 
monastery of Corvey, on the banks of the Weser (a branch of 
tlie Frankish abbey of Corbie). This monastery effected a 
great worlc ; for to the apostolic men who went forth from its 
cloisters is duo the honor of having brought about the true 
and interior conversion of the rebellious and obstinate Sax- 
ons — the conversion of mind and heart, without which all 
professions are empty and delusive. The noble men engaged 
in this apostolic labor have all a place in historj-, but there is 
one who stands out with marked prominence above the rest. 
This is Ludger,'^ a Frisian hj birth, but a disciple of Gregory 
of Utrecht and of Alcuin, who, from the year 787 till his 
death, which occurred A. D. 809, did not cease to labor with 
indefatigable zeal and heroic fortitude for the conversion of 
the Westphalians. He was the first bishop of Mimigardeford 
(Miiuster), and a judgment of his usefulness and his holiness 
of life may be had from the fact that his memory is still cher- 
ished with reverence among the inhabitants of this city. His 
tomb, in the Abbey of Verden, was the scene of many mira- 
cles, and was frequented by numbers of pilgrims. 

The labors of Willehad, an Anglo-Saxon priest, were scarcely 
less conspicuous and fruitful. At the request of Charle- 
magne, and protected by his authority, "VVillehad established 
and organized the bishopric of Bremen. He died a. d. 789, 
and his biography was written by St. Ansgar, Archbishop of 
Hamburg,^ to whom it was a work of love. The names of 



' Erdwini Erdmannt Chronioon episcopor. Osnabrug. in MeCbom. rerum Ger- 
maniear. scriptoros, T. II. Glefers, Origin of the Ses of Paderborn; in the 
same place, 1S60. Bessen, Hist, of the See of Paderborn; same place, 1820, 2 
vols. 

'Probably transferred from Heiligenstadt, also known as Osterwiclc. 

sConf Freiburg, Eccl. Cyclop., Vol. V., p. 190 sq. 

* His Life, by Alfrtdus, second successor of St. Ludger, in the see of Miinster, 
in Peris, monumenta, T. II. Bclirends, Life of St. Ludger, Apostle of the Sax., 
ons, 1843. 

'In Pertz, Monumenta, T. II., p. 378 sq. 



124 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 1. 

Viho, Hadumar, Heribert, and Patto(J), the first bishops of 
Osnabriick, Paderborn, Minden, and Verden, on the banks 
of the AUer/ ai-e equally well and favorably known. 

EETEOSPECT. 

It is evident, from the outline given above, of the efforts 
made to spread the light of the Gospel iu Germany, and of 
the triumphs achieved, that, in the reign of Charlemagne, 
Christianity had already extended as far as the Elbe. In 
Germany, as in the Eoman Empire, Christianity met with a 
very determined opposition, and was forced to contend against 
almost insuperable obstacles ; but now, as then, God raised 
up in His Church a band of devoted and faithful workers, 
heroic bishops and zealous priests, who went forth joyfully to 
►announce the tidings of the Gospel to these poor people, and 
who proved, by the gift of miracles which accompanied them, 
that their work had the sanction of Heaven. And in speak- 
ing of these devoted men, it is worthy of remark that, while 
they were engaged in preaching the "Word of God, many 
pious princesses and well-born ladies provided for their wants. 
"We have seen that the religious notions of the early Germans 
predisposed them favorably to Christianity, while their minds 
were altogetlier alienated from their idols when they beheld 
the missionaries dash them to the ground with impunity. 
The missionaries also jpracticed toward the Germans the pru- 
dence and moderation so warmly recommended by Gregory 
the Great, and, instead of frightening away, by unnecessary 
severity, either those who had already come into the Church 
or such as were preparing to do so, they adjusted, where such 
a course was possible, the requirements of Christian law, and 
tempered its severity so as not to do unnecessary violence to 
the prejudices and practices of their idolaters. The feasts of 
the saints came in place of these Pagan orgies ; the Cross 
was set up on the altar whence an idol had been cast down, 
and Pagan temples became the dwelling-places of the Most 
High God. 



lOn Verden, cf. Freiburg, Ecel. Cyclop., Vol. XI., p. 582 sq.; Erench transL, 
Vol. XXIV., p. 525 sq. 



CHAPTER n. 

MODIFICATIONS IN THE RELATIONS AND OKGANIZATION OF TUB 

CHUKCH. 

Capitularia regum Franoor., see Vol. I., p. 23, n. 3, ed. Baluzi, Venet. 1772- 
1773, 2 T. fol., and in Peris, Monumcnta, T. III., with valuable chronologioa.l 
disquisitions. We quote from the one more spread about, ed. Baluzi. Frtedrich, 
Three Unpublished Councils of Merovingian Times, Bambg. 1867. Maassen, 
Two Synods under King Childerio II., according to a Manuscript of the City 
Library of Albz, Gratz, 1867. 

-\Thomasstnl vetus et nova eccl. Disciplina. Plank, Hist, of the Organization 
of Eccl. Society, Vol. II. Orimm, Antiquities of German Law, Gotting. 1828. 
PhiUijJs, C. L., Vol. III., "The Church and the Germanic Kingdoms," p. 61-113. 
^Binterlm, Philosophical Hist, of the German National Councils, Pts. I. and II.; 
Succession of all the Bishops and Archbishops of Germany, Pt. I., p. 282-340. 
'^'Lau, On the Influence of the JTeudal System upon the Clergy and the Papacy. 
(Jllgen's Hist. Journal, year 1841, nros. 1 and 2.) Thereto, PhilUps' German 
Hist., Vol. I., p. 506 sq. Zopfl, Hist, of German Law, 3d ed., Stuttg. 1858, and 
the writings of Rettberg, ''Fehr, Ruckert; '^Gfrorer, On the Hist, of Germain 
Popular Eights, in the M. A., 2 vols., Sohafl:h. 1865. 

§ 161. The Church in Her Relations to the Germanic States — 
Close Alliance of Church and State. 

The essential elements of ecclesiastical polity, as developed 
among the Greeks and Romans, now passed, without material 
change, over to the Germanic people, who, after their conver- 
sion, regarded Roman law as inseparably connected witli 
the Church. Hence, as " every one," according to an axiom 
of German jurisprudence, "preserves intact his hereditary 
rights,"^ so did the Church and her ministers continue to 
follow the Roman civil law and the Dionysian or Spanish 
collection of canon law.^ It is especially noticeable, and per- 



1 Walter, Corpus juris German, antiqui., Berol. 1824 sq., 3 T. Peris, Monu- 
menta Germ., T. III. and IV. (containing leges.) Cf. Begesta Carolorum, 
Documents of all the Carlovingians (752-918), epitomized by BSlimer, Prkft. 
1834, 4to. 

'Conf. Cone. Aurel. I. (a. d. 511) can. 1: Id constituimus observandum quo 3 

(125) 



126 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

haps more so in the Eraukish Empire than elsewhere, that 
these canons passed, though insensibly, yet definitely, into 
the public law and the Capitularies. It could not be expected 
that the Church would maintain precisely the same relations 
with a rude and barbarous people which she had with nations 
of a more advanced and refined civilizaiion. J3efore such a 
state of things could be brought about, a certain amount of 
teaching and a thorough reformation of manners were necessary, 
and it was the Church's duty to eflect the one and impart the 
other. Faithful to her mission, she did not shrink from the 
task; but, to accomplish it successfully, she was obliged to 
adopt, in a great measure, a new system and a novel policy in 
her external relations to the State and to society. On the 
one hand, it was necessary to obtain greater political inde- 
pendence, and, on the other, to rise to civil influence and im- 
portance, in order that she might be in a position to widen 
the sphere of her jurisdiction and infuse Christian ideas into 
the masses of the people. 

Ecclesiastics, who spent their days in the contemplation of 
things human and divine, seemed at least as well qualified to 
administer justice intelligently and impartially'- as persons 
who had passed their lives in the profession of arms ; and 
the more so as they alone possessed all the knowledge and cul- 
ture of the age. Hence — 1. In Spain, Reccared commanded 
the judges to attend the ecclesiastical synods, in order that they 
might there learn the laiv;^ while, on the other hand, he in- 
structed the bishops to watch over the administration of 



ecclesiastici canones decreverunt et lex Romana constituit. (Harduin, T. II., p. 
1009). The principle is enforced: Ecclesia vivit lege Romana (Leg. Ripiiar. tit. 
LVIII. 1); see Maassen, lex Rom. canonice compta, Vienna, 1800. Friedberg, 
de finium inter et ecclesiam et civitatem judicio, qui medii aevi doctores et leges 
statuerint, Leips. 1801. 

^ Concil. Toletan. III. a. 589, capital. 18: Judices vero locorum, vel actores 
fiscalium patrimoniorum ex decreto gloriosissimi domini nostri simul cum sacer- 
dotali concilio — in unum conveniant, ut discant, quam pie et juste cum populis 
Bgere debeant. — Sunt enim prospectores Episcopi secundum regiam admoni- 
tionem, qualiter judices cum populis agant, ita ut ipsos praemonitos corrigant, 
aut insolentias eorum auditibus principis innotesoant. {Harduin, T. III., p. 482.) 
The Prankish ordinance by Chlotar: Si judex aliquem contra legem injusta 
damnaverit, in nostri absentia ab Episcopia castigetur, ut quod perpere judi- 
cavit, versatim melius discussioue habita emendare procuret. (Baluz, T. I., p. 7.) 



§ 161. The Church and Germanic States — Alliance, etc. 127 

justice. Bimilar provisions were made in the Frankisla king- 
dom in the year 585. 2. To render judgment in all matrimo- 
nial causes was regarded among tlie Burgundian Germans 
more positively even than among the ancient Eomans, as a 
distinct and peculiar office of the priesthood, inasmuch as 
these were considered as belonging to the category of things 
sacred. 3. Last luills and testaments, especially when there 
was question of goods bequeathed to the Church, wei-e always 
submitted to the bishops. 4. Under the Frankish, as under 
the Roman law,^ ecclesiastics enjoyed certain privileges and 
immunities ; for example, they were considered as wholly under 
the jurisdiction of the bishop, and not within the competence 
of civil tribunals, unless when guilty of atrocious crimes; and 
then only after they had been degraded from their dignity 
and office.^ It is clear, therefore, that there were circum- 
stances in which the power of the Church and that of the 
State were in such harmonious accord that it was difficult to 
say precisely where one ended and the other commenced. 
The ceremony of the coronation of kings,^ which was at this 

' The Druids likewise, as we learn from Caesar de bello Gallico, enjoyed im^ 
munUy: Druides a bello abesse consueverant, neque tributa cum reliquis pen- 
dant, militiae vacationom omniumque rerum habent immunitatem. (VI. 14.) 

'Capitular., lib. VII., o. 422: Plaeuit, ut Clerici non distringantur vel dijudi- 
centur nisi a propriis Episcopis. Pas enim non est, ut diviui muneris ministri 
temporalium potestatum subdantur arbitrio. Nam si propriorum Episcoporum 
jussionibus inobedientes extiterint, tunc juxta canonicas sanctiones per potes- 
tates exteras adducantur, i. e. per judices saeculares. [Baluz. T. I.) 

2 "The religious consecration of the new sovereign was introduced first into 
the Eastern Eoman Empire. The first known example is that of Thoodosius 
the Younger, who was crowned by the patriarch Proclus. In the following 
century, the Emperor .Justinus caused himself to be crowned by Pope .John I., 
although he had before received the crown from the hands of the patriarch 
John. Of the new German Christian kingdoms, the Spanish was the first that 
adopted this ceremony. (King Wamba was the first, a. d. 672. — Te.) In the 
first canon of the twelfth synod of Toledo, it is said of King Erwig that he 
received his regal power by the sacred unction. By the Merovingian kings of 
the Franks, the rite was not practiced. Pepin was the first. . . . After hia 
time, all the kings were crowned, and the rite was introduced by the East-Frar.ks 
into Germany, where Conrad I. 'was the first who was consecrated in this manner. 
The sovereign to be crowned read a profession of Catholic faith ; he then swore, 
at the desire of the bishops, to maintain to all prelates, and to the churches 
intrusted to them, their canonical privileges ; to protect and to defend, accord- 
ing to his power, every and each bishop and his church, and to preserve invio- 



128 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

time being gradually introduced, is a most striking evidence 
of this coalition of the two powers. The Church inaparted 
to the State a divine blessing, and invested it with an author- 
ity which, bearing the sanction of religion, inspired both 
reverence and awe, and was alone capable of preserving civil 
order and restraining the pride and insolence of a barbarous 
people. There were many other instances of the coalition or 
harmonious action of the civil and ecclesiastical orders — such, 
for example, as the participation of the State in the election 
of bishops; in the holding of ecclesiastical synods, and the 
ratification of their decrees ; in the institution of ecclesias- 
tical circuit courts or diocesan visitations;^ and, particularly, 
in the readiness with which the civil authority lent its aid to 
the execution of that portion of ecclesiastical legislation 
which directly and immediately affected the Church's exter- 
nal relations with society. So intimate were the relations of 
Church and State, that they gave rise to legislative bodies, 
altogether without precedent in the history of the Church, 
known as Mixed Synods, bearing a very close resemblance to 
a difct,^ and composed of both clerical and lay persons, as- 
late the rights and laws of the people." DSllinger's Ch. Hist., Vol. III., pp. 
166, 167, Eng. trans. 

In Britain, the Pontifical of Egbert, Archhishop of Canterbury, which dates 
back to the eighth century, contains a rite for the coronation of kings. 

This ceremony was usually accompanied with the more important and im- 
posing rite of anointing with oil, signifying a particular and special consecration 
of the anointed to the service of God. The term for consecration in the Saxon 
chronicle is "gehalgod," that is, hallowed or consecrated. A copy of one of the 
Gospels, on which the Saxon kings took the coronation oath, is still preserved 
in the British Museum. Cf. Phillips, C. L., Vol. III., Pt. I., p. 67 et sq . ; Hist. 
Follt. Papers, Vol. 20, p. 218-231. Chambers' Cyclop., art. Coronat. (Tr.) 

1 Already in the ep. Synod. Aurelian. I. (a. 511) ad Clodoveum regem, it is 
said: Quia tanta ad religionis cathol. cultum gloriosae fidei cura vos excitat, ut 
sacerdotalis mentis affectu sacerdotes de rebus necessariis tractaturos in unum 
colligi jusseritis, secundum voluntatis vestrae consultationem, et titulos quos 
dedistis, ea quae vobis visum est definitione respondimus ; ita ut si ea, quae nos 
etatuimus, etiam vestro recta esse judicio comprobantur, tanti consensus regis ao 
domini majori auctoritate servandam tantorum firmet sententiam sacerdotum 
(Ilarduln, T. II., p. 1008.) Thus Charlemagne called five synods. The bishops 
assembled at Tours, at the conclusion of their proceedings, declared: ""We have 
noted down the chapters to be laid before the emperor." B'lnierim, Pt. I., p. 223. 

*The preface to the Synod of Mentz (813) may be taken as a particular 



§ 161. The Church and Germanic States — Alliance, etc. 129 

senxbled to provide for the good govei'nment of both orders. 
The institution of the Missi Dominici w as but the complement 
of the system of which the Mixed Synods were the legisla- 
tive branch. This was the Imperial Court of Judicature, 
formed on the model of the ecclesiastical circuit courts or 
diocesan visitations, and composed of clerics and laymen, 
who assembled four times a year to execute the laws, both 
ecclesiastical and civil.^ Thus, while, on the one hand, the 
reverence which necessarily attaches to the priestly office, 
and the learning and culture of the clergy, opened to them a 
wide sphere of action and usefulness ; on the other, the vul- 
gar and insolent pride of rude and barbarous princes, who, 
in their wild schemes of ambition and in their love of rule, 
entire!}' lose sight of religious principles and obligations, se- 
riously threatened the independence and impeded the progress 
and internal development of the Church. There were, how- 
ever, many well-disposed princes who reposed a loving and 
filial confidence in the Church, and contributed to bring about 
that beautiful harmony which shortly characterized the rela- 
tions of the two orders. Its results were particularly beneficial 
and manifest in the great empire of Charlemagne, where it 
formed the underlying and fundamental principle of all legis- 
lation. That these results were more evident here than else- 



instance in illustration of the harmonious action of Church and State : Inoipi- 
entes igitur in nomine Domini communi consensu et voluntate tractare pariter 
de statu verae religionis, ac de utilitate et profectu christianae plebis, convenit 
nobis, de nostro communi collegio clericorum seu laicorum tres facere turmas, 
sicut et feoimus. In prima autem turma consederunt Episcopi cum quibusdam 
notariis, legentes atque tractantes St. evangelium nee non epistolas et actus 
Apostolorum, canones quoque, etc. — diligenti studio perquirentes, quibus modis 
Btatum ecclesiae Dei et christianae plebis proficere et conscrvare potuissent. In 
alia vero turma consederunt Abbates, etc. — In tertia denique turma sederunt 
comites et judices, in mundanis legibus decertantes, vulgi jvistitias perquirentes 
omniumque advenientium causas diligenter esaminantes modis, quibus poterant, 
justitias terminantes. (Harzheim, Cone. Germ., T. I., p. 405.) Blnterlm^ Hist. 
of German Councils, Pt. I., p. 10-1 sq. "Nature of Mixed Synods," synodi 
snixtae. 

^ The Capitularia reg. Franc, ed Baluz. Ven. contain at their head the tractatus 
de Missis Dominicis, Franc, de Roye Andcgavensis (T. I., p. L-CXLVIII) ; like- 
wise, Muratoril diss, de missis regiis (T. II., p. VI-XX), from ejusd. antiquit. 
Ital. med. aevi, T. I., p. 455 sq. 
VOL II — 9 



130 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

where, is probablj' owing to the fact that, through the genius 
of Charl&raagne, the empire early recovered from the disas- 
ters consequent upon the invasion of the barbarians. 

§ 162. Enlarged Possessions of the Church. Cf. § 127. 

In the early days of Christianity, the ancient and noble 
families of Eome, inspired by feelings of gratitude and love, ' 
had made large bequests to the churches of those countries 
now inhabited by German tribes ; but these possessions were, 
for the most part, lost during the shock aud convulsions which 
followed the migration of nations. The singular and excep- 
tional reverence which the Germans always entertained for 
their priests, and the facility with which, under the influence 
of Christianity, they assimilated the elements of Koman civ- 
ilization, seemed to indicate that this barbarous people, after 
it had reached some degree of civilization, would be still 
more generous in donations to the Church than even the 
early Eqmau Christians had been. This anticipation was 
fully realized; for, toward the close of the reign of Charle- 
magne, these regenerated and vigorous nations, grateful for 
the blessings and treasures which they had received through 
the Church, and, acting uuder the firm belief that such gifts 
would be meritorious in the sight of God,' contributed volun- 
tarily, abundantly, and with daily increasing generosity,^ to 
the maintenance of ecclesiastical institutions. 

But, for all this, the bulk of the clergy, as well as schools 
and monasteries, were frequently in great need of assistance, 
and the synods of Tours (a. d. 560) and 3Ia eon (a. d. 586) en- 
ergetically exhorted the faithful to pay the tithes ordained by 
Ood. Charlemagne made their payment obligatory on his 
subjects by a royal ordinance of the year 779, with the require- 
ments of which he himself faithfully complied.* But, aa 
many bishops and abbots began, about this time, to hold Jiefs 
from the crown, they acquired large possessions, and became 
comparatively wealthy, and also, in a measure, dependent 

1 Eom. XV. 27. 

»Conf. Thomassini, 1. c, Pt. III., lib. I., c. 19-23. 

■• Thomasstni, 1. c, Pt. III., lib. I., c. 6-^7. 



§ 162. Enlarged Possessions of the Church. 131 

upon the civil power. Under such circumstances, it is not 
surprising that there were to be found among them ava- 
ricious persons who were not, at times, over-honest in 
the administi'ation and disposition of ecclesiastical prop- 
erty, and, in consequence, many synods held during the 
course of the seventh and eighth centuries revived ear- 
lier decrees of the Church, requiring that the inferior 
clergy should be exactly informed as to the condition of 
the estates of the Church, and the uses to which their reve- 
nues were applied. 

Among the Germans, as among the Greeks and Romans, 
it was customary for the bishops to appoint stewards or j)ro- 
curators,^ -to look after the administration of the ecclesias- 
tical domains. As the people advanced in civilization, and 
political governments became more stable, the administration 
of ecclesiastical property, whether belonging to bishops or to 
monasteries, was intrusted to laymen (advocati togati, armati), 
and, in the year 802, Charlemagne prescribed the qualifica- 
tions and defined the duties of these agents.^ Those who had 
founded churches frequently reserved to themselves and to 
their heirs tlie right of administering the temporal concerns 
of such foundations. But, while the faithful provided gen- 
erously for the maintenance of the Church and her clergy, 
from motives of piety and gratitude, warlike princes, such as 
Charles Martel, robbed her of lier possessions and distributed 



^ Thomassini, 1. c, Pt. Ill , lib. II., c. 1 and 5-9. 

^ The Eoman Prof, de Ccmiillli, in his Institutes of Canon Law, says on the 
subject : " Saeculo VI. and V'll., deficiente advocatia imperiali et regali, Eomani 
Pontifloes ex se coeperunt constituere Ecclesiarum defensores, atque idipsum 
cmnes ecclesiae praestiterunt. Qni defensores ex suhcliaconls plerumque assume- 
bantiir, pluribus aucti sunt honoribus, eisque annuus census a singulis ecclesiis 
persolutus est; nee eorum tantum pereonis, sed familiae ipsorum boo advocaiiae 
munus videbatur concessum, ita ut filii patribus in eo succederent. Atque baeo 
disciplina medio praesertim aevo obtinuit. — Sed rebus compositis, supremi im- 
perar.teb illud advocatiae munus sibi vindicarunt ; et utinam bona fide id prae- 
Btitissent ita ut sub praetextu tuendi Ecclesiam ejus jura non invasissent, sibique 
iisurpassent. En historia juris advocatiae." Hence the emperor obtained, 
although not the order, yet the oflSce,- of subdeaconship, at the Pope's solemn 
mass, and the ^^dalniailca 'imperialist^ with the fisrafiopcpuaig rov nvpiov stitched 
on it by Byzantine skill, is still shown in the sacristy of St. Peter's, Rome, as a 
relic of the times and person of Charlemagne. (Te.) 



132 Period 2. IJjwch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

them among his soldiers;' and needy sovereigns, like Pepin, 
took the same raeang to refill the coffers that had been emp- 
tied by the extravagance of Merovingians. 

§ 163. Increased Dependence of the Church upon the State — 
Administration of Metropolitan and Diocesan Sees. 

The peculiar position acenpied by the Church, Avhen brought 
full}' into contact with the German nations, necessarily pro- 
duced a very marked influence upon the episcopal office and 
dignity, in so far as these were connected with the merely ex- 
ternal aspects of social and political life. Bishops and ahhois 
became gradually identified with the institutions of the feudal 
system. As a knowledge of this system is essential to a cor- 
rect judgment and just appreciation of the Middle i^ges, it 
will be necessary to study the history of the .Franks in Gaul, 
where it was more fully developed than among any other 
people. 

"While it is undoubtedly true that many bishops and abbots, 
desirous of coming into possession of allodial estates, acted 
from purely sordid motives, still it can not be denied that the 
spiritual seed which had been so>vn among these rude people, 
and was now bursting into life, would never have reached its 
full development and maturity, had not the clergy succeeded 
in establishing themselves permanently in the country. This, 
however, could be effected only by entering into close alliance 
and maintaining intimate relations with the great and power- 
ful, who commanded the respect and obedience of the lower 
orders. Hence, in order that bishops and abbots might be 
regarded with similar feelings, it was necessary that they 
should become, in some sort, the equals of the nobility, and, like 
them, be qualified to take their places in the diet of the empire. 
But the only available way of rising to such distinction and 
consideration among a coarse and semi-civilized people was 
to follow the example of the lay lords of France and acquire 
large landed possessions, held either m freehold or in fief.^ 

1 Both, Secularization (apportionment) of the estates of the Churcli under the 
Carlovingians (Munich Historical Annuaries, year 1865, p. 277 sq.) 

^ A freehold, or allodium, was possessed in absolute independence of the lord 



§ 163. Dependence of the Church upon the State. 133 

The system of letting lands out in fief was the basis and 
underlying principle of the Frankish kingdom,' 

That bishops and abbots administered their estates with 
a due regard to the rights of those who dwelt upon them, 
seems evident, from the fact that the people always preferred 
to see lands pass into the possession of religious rather than 
eecular liege-lords. They were incomparably more happy and 
i;ontented under the rule of the crozier than under that of 
the sword. Such as held lands in fief from religious were 
called '' saMctuarii," or "those of the house of God." They 
were much better to do, obtained freedom more readily than 
those holding of secular lords, and were frequently promoted 
to the highest dignities. Hence the origin of the proverb: 
^' It is good to live under the crook." 

Had not the Church broken through this system of brute 
force, filled the mind of man with high ideas, generous im- 
pulses, and a consciousness of his noble destiny, it would 
have been impossible for any merely temporal power to have 
led the German nation from the darkness of barbarism to the 
ihll light of civilization. It was with this view that bishops, 
ivho were truly such, used all the advantages that feudalism 
jilaced within their reach. They had a great and responsible 
mission, and they labored faithfully to accomplish it. They 
simeliorated the condition of the slave, gradually abolished 
tilavery itself, and broke down the barriers which had sepa- 
I'ated bondmen from free. 

The evil which came upon the Church by reason of her con- 
nection with the feudal system, will more than balance the 
good. The distinction between things sacred and profane 
was gradual!}' lost sight of ; ecclesiastics became the vassals. 
of kings, and, as such, mingled with the worldly, aud shared 
their dissipations. Then were sown the seeds of the long 
and terrible struggle between the throne and the altar, the 
Church and the Enapire. 



paramount; while a fief, or beneficium, "was held oa certain stated ooniUtions, 
generally a duty of military service. (Tk.) 

iConf. Luden, German Hist., Book VII., chap. 4, 5 (Pt. III., p. 285-309). 
Phillips, German Hist., Vol. I., J 25, p. 495 sq.; Vol. II., p. 454 sq., and the Dis- 
sertation, quoted on p. 407, by Lau. 



131 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

Even the appointments to bishoprics, which, according to 
ecclesiastical canons, should have been the result of the con- 
current choice of the bishops of the province, and of the 
clergy and laity of each diocese, were wholly dependent upon 
the arbitrary will of princes. Whatever qualifications men s(i 
appointed may have jDossessed, they were not, at any rate, 
such as would recommend them as fit persons to preside over 
the destinies of the Church. They were courtiers, and not 
ecclesiastics. Having received their appointments, they were 
hastily promoted to holy orders, without regard to the rule 
of the Church, requiring an observance of the interstices. 
Moreover, as those who held land in fief became, by this very 
fact, the vassals of princes, such, when appointed to bishop- 
rics and abbotships, were required to take an oath, not only 
of personal, but also of feudal, fealty (the vassalagium or homa- 
gium) to their liege lord, by which they bound themselves to 
serve the king in war, to appear at court when commanded 
to do so, to assist at his tribunals, and to remain subject to 
his jurisdiction. Again, since every free-born man among 
the Germans was liable to military duty, and could not enter 
either the clerical or monastic state ^ without the permission 
of the government, it was necessary to recruit the ranks of 
the clergy from among those who, formerly serfs, bad been 
set free by the Church. Owing to their former inferior con- 
dition, they were often kept in a humiliating state of depend- 
ence by bishops who owed their appointments to the favor 
of princes, and who were naturally proud of their rank and 
fortune. Finally, as the duty of taking the field in time of 



^Conc. Aurel. I., under Clovis, A. d. 511, prescribes, can. 4: Ut nullus saeou- 
larium ad clericatus oiEoium praesumatur, nisi aut cum regis jnssione aut cum 
judicis voluntate. (Harduln, T. II., p. 1009.) Likewise, Caroli M. capitularoa. 
80P, c. 15: De liberis hominibus, qui ad servitium Dei se tradere volunt, ut prius 
lioc non faciant, quam a nobis licentiam postulent. (Baluz, T. I., p. 298.) It ia 
therefore, too, that the Oonc. Toletan. IV., A. D. 633, c. 74, permits to appoint 
serfs priests and deacons ; De famulis ecclesiao constituere presbyteros et dia- 
conos per parochias licet : qvios tamen vitae rectitude et probitas morum com- 
niendat ; ea tamen ratlone, ut aniea mamanissi llbertatem status sui peixiptant, et 
denuo ad occlesiasticos honores succedant; irreligiosum est enim obligates 
existere servituti, qui sacri ordinis suscipiunt dignitatem. {Ilarduin, T. III., 
p. 592.) 



§ 163. Dependence of the Church upon the State. 135 

war created among the clergy a taste for the j^rofession of 
arms, it was found necessary to enact many laws, both eccle- 
siastical and civil, by which all ecclesiastics were strictly for- 
bidden to become soldiers, to bear arms, or to engage m battle. So 
distasteful were such .prohibitions, that it was thought pru- 
dent to add a declaration totally disclaiming any intention of 
putting a slight upon the priesthood or the Church, by thus 
disqualifying ecclesiastics to bear arms.^ 

The Church protested against the interference of the State 
in the appointment of bishops, and made au eflbrt to correct 
the abuse, by threatening to refuse to recognize any bishop 
appointed by royal decree, unless he sliould also have been 
canonically elected by the bishops of the province.^ This 



1 Cone, auctor. Bonif. a. 743, can. 2 : Servis Dei per omnia armaturam portare, 
vol pugnare, aut in esercitum ct in hostem pergere, omnino prohibuimus : nisi 
illis tantum, qui propter divinum Mysterium, missarum scilicet solemnia adim- 
plenda et Sanctorum patrocinia portanda ad hoc electi sunt: i. e. unum vel 
duos Episcopos cum capellanis et presbyteris eorum princeps secum habeat, etc. 
[Har-dielm, cone. Germ., T. I., p. 40. liiniertm-, Hist, of the German Councils, 
Vol. II., p. 117 sq.) It was, however, only when the wounding and killing of 
several ecclesiastics on the field of battle had produced a terrible impression, 
that Charlemagne opposed this abuse in a positive manner by his capitulare 
VIII. a. 803 : Volumus, ut nullus sacerdos in hostem pergat, nisi duo vel tres 
tantum Episcopi, electione caeterorum, propter benedictionem et praedicationem 
populique reconciliationem et cum illis electi sacerdotes, qui bene sciant populis 
poenitentias dare, Missas celebrare, de inflrmis curam habere, sacratique olei 
cum sacris precibus unctionem impendere ct hoc maxime praevidere, ne sine 
viatico quis de saeculo reeedat. Hi vero nee arma ferant, nee ad pugnam per- 
gant, — sed tantum Sanctorum pignora et sacra ministeria ferant et orationibus 
pro viribus insistant. (Baiuz., T. I., p. 287.) Yet it was added : Quod honores 
sacordotum et res ecclesiarum auferre vel minuere eis noluissernus I (1. c, 
p. 288.) 

'^Already Gregory of Tours complains of arbitrariness in conferring and 
acquiring ecclesiastical dignities : Jam tunc germen illud iniquum coeperat 
pullulare, ut sacerdotium aut venderctur a regibus aut compararetur a cleriois. 
(Vitae Patrum, o. 4, de St. Gallo Episc. max. bibl., T. XI., p. 989.) Likewise, 
Grer/or. Hist. Eranc. IV. 15, VIII. 39, IX. 23. See Phillips, Vol. I., p. 673 sq. 
Against such abuses, Cone. Arvei-n. a. 535, can. 2 ; Diligenter itaque (in eligendis 
Bacerdotibus) quisque inspiciat pretium dominiei gregis, ut soiat, quod meritum 
constituendi deceat esse pastoris. Episcopatum ergo desiderans, electione cleri- 
corura vel civium, consensu etiam metropolitan! ejusdem provineiae, pontifex 
ordinetur. K on patrocinia potentum adhibeat, non calliditate subdola ad con- 
soribcndum decretum alios hortetur praemiis, alios timore compellat. (Ilarduin, 
T. II., p. 1181.) Cone. Aurel. V. a. 549, can. 10: Ut nulli episcopatum praemiis 



136 Period 2. E-poeh 1. PaH 1. Chapter 2, 

threat was, however, frequently disregarded by such as, had 
power to enforce their demands. 

Freedom of ecclesiastical elections was restored through 
the efforts of St. Boniface and by the decrees of Charle- 
macfne. 

The exercise of the royal sanction, a right similar to that 
exercised by the Graeco-Roman emperors, was looked upon 
as a thing of course, and no one ever thought of challeng- 
ing it. 

After St. Boniface had fully organized the hierarchy in the 
East-Frankish kindgom, metropolitans frequently asserted 
and claimed the rights belonging to their sees; but, though 
these rights were admitted and confirmed, the exercise of them 
was frequently obstructed by the anomalous political position 
of certain bishops. The practice of holding provincial councils 
annually had been almost entirely neglected, and ecclesiastical 
administration, morals, and discipline had suffered in conse- 
quence. St. Boniface therefore exerted himself to revive the 
practice, and, though his efforts were in a measure successful,* 
these synods never rose to their former importance. The 

aut comparatione liceat adipisci, sed cum voluntate regis juxta electionem cleri et 
plebis, sicut in antiquis canonibus tenetur scriptum, a metropolitano, etc. [Har- 
duin, T. II,, p. 1445.) Cone. Paris. III., a. 557, can. 8. {Harduin, T. III., p. 339.) 
Repeatedly Co7ic. Paris. V., a. 615, can. I. [Harduin, T. III., p. 551.) Gregorii 
M. epp. lib. XI. ep. 61. ad Chlotar. Francor. regem: Pervenit ad nos, quodsacri 
illic ordines cum datione pecuniae conferantur. Et vehementer affligimur, si 
ad Dei dona non meritis acceditur, sed praemiis prosilitur. Et quia haec simon- 
iaca haeresls (!) prima in ecclesia surgens, Apostolorum est auctoritate damnata, 
petimus, ut pro mercede vestra congregari Synodum faciatis, etc. (0pp. T. II., 
p. 1147 sq.) Charlemagne^ capitulare I. a. 803, c. 2: Sacrorum canonum non 
ignari, ut in Dei nomine sancta ecclesia suo liberius potiretur bonore, adsensum 
ordini ecclesiastico praebuimus, ut Episcopi per electionem cleri et populi secun- ' 
duni statuta canonum de propria dioecesi, remota personarum et munerum 
acceptione, ob vitae meritum et sapientiae donum eliganiur, ut exemplo et verbo 
sibi subjectis usquequaque prodesse valeant. (Baluz. T. I., p. 269.) Accord- 
ingly, the report of Sigebert of Gemblours, that Charles, at a Lateran synod of 
163 bishops, obtained authority to fill the papal chair, and to invest all the 
archbishops and bishops, is a manifest forgery, occasioned by the contest on 
investitures. Conf. Ilefele, Hist, of Couijcils, Vol. III., p. 579. 

1 Conf. Bintertm, Hist, of German Councils, Vol. II., p. 1 sq. Already Greg- 
ory the Great had repeatedly urged the convocation of synods in the Prankish 
Empire. Epp. lib. XI., ep. 55-61, ep. 63. 



§ 163. Dependence of the Church upon the State. 137 

reason of this is not far to seek. In the first place, the con- 
vocation of them was dependent upon the pleasure of the 
prince;^ and secondly, they gradually lost their strictly eccle- 
siastical character and became of the nature of a diet, and 
hence were called " Mixed Synods." Moreover, the gradually 
but steadily increasing authority of the popes, and the ex- 
tensive claims put forward and exercised bj^ papal legates, 
checked the growth and limited the influence of metropolitan 
institutions. Each bishop was strictl3' required to make an 
annual visitation of his diocese, and such visitations were 
called Synodal Courts. To facilitate the transaction, of busi- 
ness in these courts, dioceses were divided into districts, over 
each of which an areJideaeon'' presided. Instead of one arch- 
deacon, who had been formerly vicar-general to the bishop, 
there were now many — the number sometimes reaching as 
high as seven, as in the case of the diocese of Strasburg. 
Heddo, the bishop of this see, obtained the consent of Pope 



1 Grerjor. Turon. hist. 3?rancor. VIII. 20. Interim dies placiti advenit et Epis- 
copi exjussu Regis Gunthramni apud Matescensem urbem coUecti sunt. — Sige- 
, bertt Kegis epist. ad Desiderium Episc. (about 050) : Nobis cum nostris proceribus 
convenit, ut sine nostra scientia synodale concilium in regno nostro non agatur, 
nee ad Istas Kal. Septemb. nulla conjunetio saccrdotum ex his, qui ad nostram 
ditionem pertinero noscuntur, non fiat. (Baluz. T. I., p. 101.) 

'Bishops divided their dioceses into several districts {capitula ruralia), over 
each of which an archdeacon (archpriest? — Tk ) presided. He subsequently 
became subordinate to the archdeacon of the cathedral church, who, though only 
a deacon, and, in many instances, only a layman, exercised a more extensive 
and superior authority. Hence, the many protests against his encroachments 
and arrogance. Cone. Toletan. J.Y . a. 633, can. 39: NonnuUi diacones in tantam 
erumpunt superbiam, ut se anteponant atque in prime loco ipsi priores stare 
praesumant presbyteris in secundo choro constitutis. (llarduin, T. Ill , p. 587.) 
Cone. Emeritense a. 666, can. 5 : Ad suam personam (episcop.) non aliter nisi aut 
archipresbyterum suum diriget (in concilium); aut si archipresbytero impossi- 
bilitas fuerit, presbyterum utilem — a tergo Episcoporum inter presbyteros 
sedere, et quaeque in eo concilio fuerint acta, scire et subscribere. [llarduin, 
T. III., p. 1000.) Cone. Eememe (about 630), can. 19: Ut in parochiis nullus 
laicorum archipresbyter praeponatur. (llarduin, T. III., p. 573.) Capitulars 
IV., Caroli M., a. 803, c. 2: Ut laici non sint praepositi monachorum in monas- 
terio, nee Arehidiaconi sint laici. [Baluz. T. I., p. 303.) At the synod, held by 
Boniface, A. d. 745, it was decreed: Praevideant episcopi, ne cupiditas archidia- 
conorum suorum culpas nutriat, quia multis modis mentitur iniquitas sibi. 
(Bonifac. epp. ed. Wurdtwein, p. 161.) Likewise, T/iomassini 1. c, P. I., lib. II., 
c. 4, 5. 



138 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. awpter 2. 

Hadrian I. to the system (a. d. 774), and was the first to organ- 
ize it and put it into complete working order.^ The func- 
tions of the chorepiscopus,^ an office which had passed into 
Germany from the Graeco-Eoman Empire, were early re- 
stricted to the ordinary duties of priests.^ 

§ 164. The Primacy — Spiritual Power of the Popes. 

The respect nniversally entertained for the Head of the 
Church by the German people must unquestionably he ascribed 
to the fact that a great majority of the missionaries who came 
among them to preach the Gospel had been either approved 
or sent directly by the Holy See, and, during their stay, uni- 
formly consulted it on all matters affecting the religious and 
social condition of the faithful. Hence they knew the Bishop 
of Rome 07ily as the Head of the Catholic world, a preroga- 
tive which the popes of every age have claimed, and which 
the most enlightened men of this epoch constantly, distinctly, 
and emphatically maintained.* It is an undeniable fact that, 
since the days of Siricius and Leo the Great, vicars-apostolic 
exercised supreme jurisdiction in almost every Christian coun- ■ 

'Cf. Grandtdier, Hist, de I'eglise de Strasb., Vol. I., pp. 176, 291; Vol.11., 
Document nro. 66. Planck, Hist, of the Organization of Eccl. Society, Vol. II., 
p. 584 sq. 

2 See Vol. I., p. 394. 

' Capit. a. 799 : Placuit, ne Chorepiscopi a quibusquam deinceps fiant, quoniam 
hactenus a nescientibus sanctorum Patrum et maxime Apostolicorum deoreta 
suisque qviietibus ac delectation! bus inhaerentibus facti sunt — a. 803: Ut hi, qui a 
Chorepiscopis presbyteri vel diaconi aut subdiaconi sunt ordinati, nullatenus in 
presbyteratus vel diaconatus aut subdiaconatus officio ministrare praesumant. 
{Baluz. T. I., pp. 233, 746.) Migne, ser. lat.. Vol. 97, p. 764 and p. 830. (Tk.) 

* Hadrian I. said of the Eoman episcopate : Sedes apostolica caput totius mundi 
et omnium Dei ecclesiarum — cujus sollicitudo delegata divinitus cunctis debetur 
ecclesiis; — a qua si quis se abscidit, fit christianae religionis extorris. — Quae de 
omnibus ecclesiis fas habet judicandi, neque cuiquam licet de ejus judicare judi- 
cio, quorumlibet sententiis ligata pontificum jus habebit, solvendi, per quos ad 
. unam Petri sedem universalis ecclesiae cura confluit. Cod. Carolin. ed. Cevni, 
Parmae, 1519. — Beda Venerabilis: Quis nesciat, beatissimum Petrum omnium 
Apostolorum principem luisse'f (Comment, in Joan., c. 13.) Alcuin, the great- 
est scholar of his age, writes, ep. 20. ad Leon. III. : Princeps ecclesiae, hujus 
inmiaculatae columbae, nutritor — vere dignum esse fateor, omnem illius grigis 
multitudinem suo pastori licet in diversis terrarum pascuis commorantem una 
caritatis fide subjectam esse. 



§ 164. The Primacy — Spiritual Power of the Poises. 139 



try; as, for example, in Spain, during the pontificate of Greg- 
cry the Great. 

The question submitted to the judgment of Pope Zachary 
by Burlvliard, bishop of Strasburg, and Fulrad, a priest of St. 
Denys, when they asked, in the case of Pepin, the mayor of 
the pahiee, and King Childeric, "if it «-ere not just that one 
who possessed the royal authoi'ity should also enjoy the tide 
of king,"' is a most striking and significant example of the 
e^jercise of the plenitude of power centered in the Head of 
tlie Church. The Pope, in giving bis decision in favor of 
Pepin,^ did so with strict regard to the legal aspects of the 
question, alleging, as his reasons, that the electoral vote of the 
nobles of the Germanic kingdoms should be respected, and 
the fact that Pepin had, in reality, if not in name, possessed 
and exercised the royal authoritj^ in the Prankish kingdom 
for years. Thns did the Pope strengthen the authority and 
consecrate the temporal power of Pepin by imparting to 
them a divine sanction, and giving orders to Boniface to 
crown him king, at Soissons (a. d. 752). The ceremony of 
coronation was performed for Charlemagne about a half a 
century later. Speaking of the relations of this prince to the 
Holy See, even Voltaire says: "If, at this time, the kingdom 
of Charlemagne alone possessed some measure of culture, this 
is probably to bo ascribed to the fact that the emperor had 
made a journey to Rome." 

The bishops assembled at the first German Synod, held in 
the year 742, promised, under oath, to render eanoniccd obe- 
dience to the Fope:^ aild those summoned by Charlemagne 
to examine into the charges brought against Leo III. promptly 

1 It is a remarkable and significant fact, that no writer of that ago challenged 
the validity or legality of this decision. Cf Phillips, Hist, of Germ., Vol. I., 
p. 522-527. 

2 Bonifacii ep. 105, in Serarius (max. hibl. T. XIII., p. 113) : Decrevimus autem 
ill nostro synodali conventii et confessi sumus fidem catholicam et unitatem, et 
subjectionem Eomanae ecclesiae, fine' tenus vitae nostrao, velle sorvare: fclt. 
Petro et vicario ejus velle subjici: synodum per omnes annos congregare: 
Metropolitanos pallia ab ilia sede quaerere: et per omnia praecopta Petri cano- 
nice sequi desiderare, ut inter oves sibi commendatas numeremur. Cf WUrcU- 
wein, ep. 7?., p. 179. Mansi, T. XII., p. 365. See the oath taken by Boniface 
above, on p. 114. 



140 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Cha.jpter 2. 

and emphatically declared that "it was the right of the Pojpe to 
judge them, but not theirs to judge him."^ 

Even the Prankish Capitularies recognized the right of the 
Bishop of Rome to examine and approve or reject the decrees 
of provincial synods.^ 

The metropolitans of the Frankish Empire, like those of 
the Graeco-Roman, regularly received the pallium from the 
Pope ; and here, also, bishops suffering from the oppression 
of ambitious metropolitans, and priests unjustly persecuted 
by their bishops, sent their complaints and made known their 
griefs to the common father of the faithful, from whom they 
uniformly obtained justice.^ 

The emperor Constantiue Pogonatus (a. d. 668-685) granted 
the Roman clergy and people full freedom in the election of 
popes, and Leo II. (a. d. 682-683) and Beiiedict II. (f a. d. 685), 
who ascended the papal throne in his reign, were consecrated 
without even having been confirmed by either the emperor 
himself or the exarch of Ravenna. It would appear, how- 
ever, that this privilege was withdi-awn, under succeeding 
popes, on account of the determined resistance which they, 
during the reign of Justinian II. (a. d. 685-695, when he 
was expelled, and after his return, in the year 705, he reigned 
till A. D. 711), offered to the decrees of the Trullan Synod 
of 692. 

Leo the Isaurian, who, besides being an iconoclast, was also 
a despot, showed still less favor to Rome, and endeavored, by 
every instrument of power at his command, to enslave the 
Church, because the popes Gregory' II. (a. d. 715-731) and 
Gregory III. (a. d. 731-741) firmly resisted his decrees requir- 
ing the destruction of statues and images. Neither is it 
probable that freedom of election was permitted in the choice 
of the six succeeding popes, all of whom, from Conon (fA. d. 

1 Gonf. Bardutn, T. IV., p. 936. Mamt,, T. XIII., p. 1044. Alcutni ep. 92. 

2 Capitular, lib. VII., cap. 349 : Ut comprovincialis synodus retractetur per 
vicarios urbis Komao Episcopi, si ipse deoreverit. [Baluz. T. I., p. 735, from 
capit. Angilramni, c. 42, at the end of tbe eighth century ; cf. Baluz. T. I., p 
195.) Boniface likewise sent the acts of the councils held by him, for examina- 
tion and approbation, to Kome. 

= 3ueh appeals had been recognized by the Council of Sardl-a. held A. D. 
343. See Vol. I., p. 671, note 1. 



§ 165. Temporal Power of Popes — States of the Church. 141 

687) to Constautiue (a. d. 708-715), were either Greeks or 
Syrians. Even after the Popes had rid tliemselves of the 
yoke of the Greek Empire, and escaped tlie still more de- 
grading bondage of the Lombards; and after they had, at a 
critical moment, asserted and maintained their political inde- 
pendence, still the electio.i. of a pope was liable to dangers of 
no ordinary magnitude. The people and the clergy now 
enjoyed perfect freedom, but their interests seem to have 
clashed; for, while the former regarded only the political, the 
latter looked chiefly to the ecclesiastical qualifications of the 
candidates. 

In this unsettled condition of the Roman Church, the jjolil;- 
ical and religious importance of which was daily on the in- 
crease, a system of election was required, which, while moie 
eonfoi^mable to the genius of her constitution, would be a 
pledge of future peace and security. 

§ 165. Temporal Power of the Popes — Establishment of the States 
of the Church. 

I. Monumenta dominationis Pontifioiae seu cudex Carolinused. Cenni, Eomae, 
1760, 2 T. 4to. (i. e. epp. Greg. III. usque ad Hadrian I., ad Carol. Martell., Pipin., 
Carlmann. et Carol. M.) ''•Theiner, Codex diplomaticus dominii temporalis St. 
Sedis, Eomae, 1861 sq., 3 T. fol. 

II. V'Orsi, deir origine del dominio e della sovranita dei Eomani Ponteflci 
sopra gli Stati lore temporalmente soggetti, llom. 1754. Muzzarelli, Dominio 
temporale del Papa, 1789. '^Phillips, Hist, of Germ., Vol. II., p. 239-253. Sa- 
vlgny, Hist, of Eoman Civil Law during the Middle Ages, 2d ed. Heidelberg, 
1834, Vol. I., p. 357-396, "Eavenna and Eome under the Popes and the Empe- 
rors." Leo, Hist, of Italy, Vol. I., p. 187-189. ■\''> Scharj>ff, Origin of tlie States 
of the Church, Preiburg, 1860. '\Brandes, The world-wide Importance of the 
Creation of the States of the Church (Tiibg. Quart. 1848, nro. 2). \Schrodl, 
The Vote of the Catholic World on the Necessity of the Temporal Power and 
Sovereignty of the Holy See, together with a Hist, of the Else of the States of 
the Church, Preiburg, 1867. Grcgorovius, Hist, of the City of Eome, etc., Vol, 
II., p. 304 sq. Reumont, ibid. Vol. II., p. 127 sq. Tk. Adds.: DoUlnrjer, in th« 
Mimich Historical Anuuary of 1865, p. 300 sq. Card. Soglia, Institutionea 
Juris publici et privati. Eccl. ed. 10, Boscoduci (Herzogenbusch.), Vol. I., I 
42, p. 257-284. 

Scharpff, who has treated the establishment of the States of 
the Church with great clearness and fidelity, divides the sub- 
ject into three sections, corresponding to its three leading 



142 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

historical aspects. In the first of these, he treats of the grad- 
ually' increasing extent of the estates of the Koman Church, 
or the Patrimoniam Petri, down to the time of Gregory the 
Great; in the second, of the Papacy as the protecting power 
of Rome and of several of the Greek provinces in Italy; in 
the third, of the de facto sovereignty of the Popes, which, he 
says, was, under the circumstances, a legitimate title to su- 
preme civil authority, into which it shortly developed. 

"We shall confine ourselves principally to a consideratioa 
of the questions involved in the last two sections. 

^o countrj' sufiercd as much as Italy from the devastating 
incursions of the barbarians. In seasons of greatest danger 
and distress, the inhabitants, forsaken by the Greek Emperors 
and the Exarchs at Ravenyia, naturally turned to the Popes for 
comfort and assistance; and, in matter of fact, Rome herself 
was saved by their coui'ageous interference. It was Leo the 
Great who stopped and turned hack Attila, at the head of the 
Huns, and Genseric, at the head of the Vandals. Again, it 
was Pope Zachary who confronted the Lombard kings Luit- 
prand and Rachis (a. d. 74:1 and 750), and saved Rome from the 
terror of their arms. " If," says John von Muller, " the ques- 
tion be decided by natural justice, then- is the Pope the right- 
ful Lord of Rome ; for, without him, Rome would not now 
exist." 

As time went on, the Lombards of Upper Italy, having ex- 
tended their conquests and taken possession of the duchies of 
Bericventum and Spoleto, spread a sense of insecurity and 
danger throughout the city of Rome. Hence Gregory the 
Great, while acting as a mediator between the Lombard 
Kings and the Exarchs of Ravenna, who were at war with 
each other, was careful to avert, as far as possible, all danger 
from Rome, and to provide for the prosperity of her temporal 
interests. By this policy of careful mfinagement, the city of 
Rome increased in political importance, till, with the patri- 
mony of St. Peter, consisting of cities and towus scattered over 
Italy and the island of Sicily, it became a sort of principality 
u::der the suzerainty of Byzantium. But, when the popes Greg- 
ory II. and Gregory III. opposed the decrees of the iconoclastic 
emperors, the latter seized such of the papal estates as were 



§ 165. Temporal Power of Popes — States of the Church. 143 



situated in Southern Italy and Sicily, and even made an at- 
tempt to arrest the Pope himself. In the meantime, great dis- 
orders broke out in Rome and in the provinces of Italy belong- 
ing to the emperor, which the Lombard kings made every effort 
to turn to their own advantage. Luitprand and Rachis, after 
having made many conquests, marclied on Rome, and were 
prevented from taking the city onh' by the energy, tact, and 
eloquence of Pope Zachary (a. d. 743-750), with whom they 
entered into a treaty of peace. The peace was of short.dura- 
tion. After the treaty had been broken by King Aistulf 
(Aistulphus), Pope Stephen III. (a. d. 752-757), weak and in- 
iirm, and regardless of the danger that might befall him in 
the country of the Lombards, set out, amid the tears of all 
Rome, to implore for Italy the aid and p)rotection of Pepin. 
Some years previously (a. d. 741), Gregory III. had crossed 
the Alps on a similar mission to Charles Martel, the father 
of Pepin; but this prince, who governed the French mon- 
archy uuder the modest title of Mayor, was too much occu- 
pied at home to think of any foreign enterprise, and while 
he received the Pope with respectful reverence, dismissed 
liira without acceding to his wishes.' Pepin was not un- 
mindful that Childeric III. had been deposed and he himself 
raised to the royal dignity by the authority of Pope Zachary 
(a. d. 752), and felt that it was now his duty to espouse the 
cause of the Father of Christendom. He received Pope 
Stephen with every demonstration of respect, assured him of 
his good will, and promised to march at the head of an army 
to his assistance. The Pope in turn appointed Pepin pro- 
tector of the Church of Rome, under the title of Patricius of 
Rome, and anointed his son King. Pepin crossed the Alps 
with his army, in the company of Stephen, and having, in 
this and a second expedition undertaken in the year following 
(a. d. 755), completely overcome Aistulphus and forced him to 
restore the possessions and respect the rights of the Church 
of Rome, " donated to St. Peter, to the Church, and to the 
Roman Republic," the cities that had formerly belonged to 

' Cf. John von Miiller, Journeys of the Popes, and Papencordt, Hist, of the City 
of Kome, p. 80 sq. 



144 Period 2. Epoch 1. PaH 1. Chapter 2. 

the Greek Exarchate and to the Pentapolis (a. d. 756).' This 
" Donatioa,"'which is meutioned only in a casual Avay and 
in general terms by the most trustworthy authors, is given in 
detail hy Anastasius the Librarian, who specifies the following 
places as included in the grant, viz : Ravenna, Ariminium 
(Rimini), Pisaurum (Pesaro), Concha (which has long since 
ceased to exist), Fanum (Fano), Cesinae (Cesena), Sinogallia 
(Siuigaglia), Aesium (Jesi), Forum Pompilii (Porumpopuli), 
Formn Livii (Forli) with the castle of Sassubium, Montefeltri, 
Acerres (not identified), Agiomonte (Monte Maggio, near San 
Mariuo), Mons Lucati (Monte Luco), Serra, Castrum St. Ma- 
rini, Bobium (Bobbio), Orbino, Gallis,{G&g\\), Lucioli (Lxxcerh), 
Fugubio (Gnhhio), Comiaclum (Comachio), and Civitas Narnien- 
sis (ISTarni). Anastasius also adds : " Fulrad, Abbot of St. 
Denys and Plenipotentiary of Pepin, visited all the cities 
enumerated, in the company of the Lombard deputies, from 
whom he received the keys of each place, and laid them on 
the tomb of St. Peter." ^ 

The Greek emperor, Coustantine Copronymus, a persecutor 
of the Church, desirous of turning the Prankish victories to 
his own profit, demanded, through his embassadors, the resti- 
tution of all the territory previously taken from him by the 
Lombards. But to this demand Pepin refused to accede. 
" The Franks," said he, " have not shed their blood for the Greeks, 
but for St. Peter and the salvation of their own souls. Neither 
will I break my word for any vjorldly consideration." The in- 
habitants of these countries, having been long accustomed to 
regard the Pope as their rightful sovereign and faithful 
guardian, considered that Pepin, in making this grant, had 
done no more than restore to the Pope what had been unlaw- 

' Vido Theiner, "Codex diplomaticus dominii S. S. Komae, 1861, and Soglia, 1. 
1., p. 258. (Tk.) 

2 The deed of "Donation" is lost, but Anastasius states positively that he saw 
the document. The extent of territory included in the "Donation" is still 
greater according to Justiniis Fontani: Istoria del Dominio temporals della 
Sedo Apostolica del Duoato di Parma o Piacenza, Eome, 1720. Conf. Mura- 
tori, Annali d'ltalia, T. IV., p. 310 sq., ejusdem antiquitates Ital. med. aev., T. 
I., p. 64 sq., V. 790; Sabbathier, Essai hist. orit. sur I'origine de la puissance 
temporelle des Papes, a la Haye, 1765, 4tO/ 



§ 165. Temporal Power of Popes — States of the Church. 145 

fully taken from him.^ The Romans furthermore promised 
Pepin that for the future they would obey the Pope as their 
king.^ 

After the death of Pepin, Desiderius, king of the Lom 
hards, made another attempt to get possession of Rome and 
the Exarchate. To avert the threatened danger, an appeal 
for aid was made to Charlemagne hy Pope Hadrian I. (a. d. 
772-795). This prince responded to the appeal of Hadrian 
with as much alacrity as his father had to that of Stephen, 
and, having ci'ossed the Alps and subdued the Lombards, 
marched to Rome, which he entered with the permission of 
the Pope, and confirmed the donation of Pepin, to which he 
added some 2^i"ovinces in Northern and Central Italy, among 
which were the island of Corsica and the duchies of Benevento 
and Spoleto? But of these additional gifts of Charlemagne, 

' Gf. Siephan. III. ep. ad Domin. Pipinum Eegem an. 754 : Propria vestra vol- 
untate per donationls paginam beato Petro sanctaeque Dei eoclesiae et reipub- 
licae, civitates et \oca,restiUienda conflrmastis ( C'enni, 1. c, p. 75). Annal. Fuldens. 
Haistulfum — res St. Petri reddere Sacramento constrinxit. See 0?-s-i, 1. c, Cap. 
6, p. 101 sq. 

^ Ep. Populi Senatusque Eom. ad Domin. Pipin. Keg. : At vero in ipsis vestris 
mellifluis apicibus nos salutaris providentia vestra et avimonere praecellentia 
vestra siuduit, firmos nos ac Jideles permanere debere erga Beat. Peirum, principem 
Apostolorum, et sanctam Dei ecolesiam et circa beatissimum et evangelicum 
spiritalem patrem vestrum a Deo deoretum Dominum nostrmn Paulum Sum- 
mum Pontificem et universalem Papam, etc. (Cenni, 1. c, p. 141.) 

'There is no positive proof tliat any addition was ever made to the first "Do- 
nation." The only documents bearing directly on the subject are the account 
given by Anastasius, -which was written a century after the transaction is said 
to have taken place, and Codex Carolinus; but these two instruments contradict 
each other. Cf. de Marca, de Concordia Sacerd. et Imper. III. 11. — Mock, de 
Donatione a Carolo M., etc., Monast. 1861. 

The words of Pope Hadrian I., which follow, are still more remarkable. They 
are addressed to Charlemagne, and some have maintained that they contain an 
appeal to a donation supposed to have been made by Constanitne the Great to 
Pope Sylvester: "Et sicut temporibus St. Sylvestri a piissimo Const. M. imp. 
per ejus largitaiem Rmnana JScclesia elevaia atque exaltata est, et potestatem in his 
Hesperiae partibus largiri dignatus est — ecce novus christianissimus Coustantinus 
imperator his temporibus surrexit, per quem omnia Deus sanetae eccles. Apos- 
tolorum principis Petri largiri dignatus est. Sed et cuncta alia, quae per diversos 
imperatores, Patricios etiam et alios Deum timentes pro eorum animae mercede 
ot Tenia delictorum in partibus Tusciae, Spoleto seu Benevento atque Corsica 
VOL. II — 10 



1.46 Period 2. E'poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

the Pope retained possession only of the Exarchate and the 

duchies of Rome and Spoleto.^ After the capture of Desid- 
— . ^5 

Bimul ct Sabinensi patrimonia Petro Apostolo concessa sunt, et — vestris tempo- 
ribus restituantur." (Cod. Carolin., T. I., p. 352.) 

While Muraiori, in his History of Italy, only ventured to say that the words 
printed in italics seemingly contain an allufdon to a supposed donation of Con- 
stantine, later historians have boldly asserted that they express a plain and 
undeniable /aci!. 

Dollinger, referring to these words, in his Papal Fables, p. 76, says: "It is 
quite plain, and may be easily proven by comparison of analogous expressions, ' 
that these words were only intended to convey the idea that Constantine 
exalted the Roman Church by his rhunificence, and conferred upon her certain 
grants of power in these countries of the West." 

Cf. the Donation of Constantine; Keview of Dollinger' s Papal Pables of 
the Middle Ages, Civilta Cattolica, German translation, Mentz, 1866, p. 21 
et sq. 

1 Even down to the present day, many doubts of a very different and some- 
times ingenuous character have been raised as to the justice of this donation. 
Cf. Phillips, 1. c. Vol. II., p. 248. In addition to the words of John von Miiller, 
given in the text, we will add the remarkable and weighty passage from So- 
vigny, 1. c. Vol. I., p. 361 : 

" This affair can not be regarded as an usurpation of the rights of the Eastern 
Emperor, who was himself but an usurper in Italy. For it should not be for- 
gotten that the Greeks, instead of wishing to restore this half of the empire, 
which they had already lost, to its former condition, treated Italy as a conquered 
province and, with excessive harshness, refusing to recognize her ancient dig- 
nity, or to restore her former constitution and power. Such being the condition 
of affairs, the assertion that the Prankish king exercised a sort of suzerainty 
over this country is simply inadmissible. The truth is, the Pope was himself 
the representative of an authority which rested on an entirely independent 
title," etc. 

Charles A. Menzel, Hist, of the Germans, Book III., chap. 16, Vol. I., p. 448, 
Bays : " It is impossible either ti.. question the right or to doubt the justice of the 
donation. Por, from the time that Belisarius and Narses conquered Italy, this 
country had never been considered by the court of Constantinople as part of 
the empire, or one of the seats of government, but, on the contrary, had been 
regarded as a conquered province. On what ground, then, could the tyrants 
of the East claim back conquests which had already passed into other hands, 
and which they could neither govern nor defend ? Judging from the tone Df 
certain modern historians, it would seem that, by some Providential arrangO' 
ment, all the countries of Europe, as far as the Puhine and the Danube, should 
be forever subject to the Byzantine yoke, and that any attempt to get rid of 
this yoke would be an unpardonable sin. Home accomplished under her bishops 
what other nations accomplished under their kings. She seized a favorable mo- 
ment to shake off the yoke of a stranger, and sunder unnatural relations. There 
is neither a European prince nor people able to advance claims to the possession 
of territory stronger than those of Eome ; she had asserted her freedom, and 



§ 166. Christian German or Roman Empire of the West. 147 

erius, Charlemagne abolished the kingdom of the Lombai'da 
and assumed the title of King of the Franks and Lombards. 

In the year 800, during the pontificate of Leo III. (a. d. 
796-816), Charlemagne came to Eome, and, on Christmas 
day, placed upon the tomb of St. Peter the ''Donation" made 
by his father and increased by himself, and received the im 
perial crown from the hands of the Pope. Thus was laid the 
foundation of an institution which has no parallel in history, 
but which was hinted at, centuries before, by Pope Gelasius.' 

§ 166. Foundation of the Christian German or Restoration of 
the Roman Empire of the West. 

Phillips, Hist, of Germ., Vol. II., ?? 47, 48 : Eelation of the Pope with the 
Emperor, p. 253 sq. Giesehrecld, Hist, of the Times of the German Emperors, 
Vol. I., 2d ed., p. 121 sq. Ficker, The German Empire, in its Universal and 
National Eelations, Innsbr. 1861. Niehues, Hist, of the Eelations between the 
Empire and the Papacy, Miinster, 1863, Vol. I., p. 545-593. "What is the Ein- 
pire?" (Hist. Polit. Papers, Vol. 31, p. 665-704.) DSUinger, Exit of the Old 
Empire in the West (Munich Hist. Annuary, for 1865). tKampschulte, Hist, 
of the Middle Ages, Bonn, 1864. 

The establishment of the Germano-Roman Empire was not 
the result of any well-conceived plan devised by man, but 



maintained it for a century. Besides this unimpeachable title, there is still 
another, not indeed of equal importance, but still perfectly valid, viz., the title 
of retaliation. The Greek Emperor had seized the estates of the Church situ- 
iited in Lower Italy, and, having done so, the Pope could not refuse to accept 
them as an indemnification for what he had lost." 

The impartial testimony of Herder confirms the above: "Were all the empe- 
r:irs, kings, princes, and cavaliers of Christendom obliged to make good the 
claims by which they rose to power, then might the man (the Pope) wearing 
the triple crown and adored at Eome, borne aloft upon the shoulders of peace- 
able priests, bless them, and say : ' Without mo, you would not be what you 
are.' The Popes have preserved antiquity, and Eome should remain the peace- 
ful sanctuary of the precious treasures of the past." (Ideas on the Philosophy 
of the History of Mankind, Stuttg. 1827 et seq., in 16 Parts, Vol. IV., p. 108.) 

Even Napoleon I., when a prisoner on the island of St. Helena, said of the 
States of the Church : " Ages have called them into existence, and it is a blessing 
that they have done so." 

Pius IX., in a letter written lately to the Bishop of Wiirzburg, made this 
straightforward and irrefragable statement: "It is well known to all that the 
Bishops of Eome came into possession of their temporal power by disposition of 
Divine Providence, to the end that they might exercise the functions of their office 
more effectually, and without hindrance, in all countries." 

'See Vol. I., p. 649. 



148 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

rather the consequence of a series of providential circumstances. 
This view seems to be borne out by its subsequent history 
and the great and exceptional influence it exercised upon 
succeeding events. The assertion advanced by certain au- 
thors, that the establishment of this empire consisted in sim- 
ply transferring to the West the imperial dignity of the East, 
can not be sustained,^ because the rights and prerogatives of 
the Greek emperors were in no sense impaired by the eleva- 
tion of Charlemagne. It v^^as neither more nor less than a 
restoration of the Western Empire ; and, though a purely polit- 
ical institution^ possessed characteristics p>eculiar to itself. 

Pope Stephen had bestowed upon Pepin the title of Patri- 
ciiis or Protector of the Roman Church,^ but when the latter 
was once in the full exercise of the functions which that title 
implied, the transition to the more imposing name of " Em- 
peror" was easy and natural. Hence Leo III. actually he- 
stowed the imperial crown upon Charles, on Christmas day, 
in the year 800, amid the joyful acclamations of the people, 
who cried out: '^Long life and success to the good Charles Au- 
gustus, the pacific Emperor of the Romans, v)hom. God has 
crowned." The Pope, having anointed his forehead with holy 
oil, was the first to pay homage to the new emperor. 

The august ceremony did not, indeed, confer upon the em- 
peror any new grant of power, but it added a fresh lustre and 
a divine sanction to his authority. This act simply restored 
the relations which had existed between the Pope and the 
Emperor in the days of Theodosius. Although established 
on quite a diflt'erent basis, and with a very different scope,' 

^ Bellarmlnus, S. J., De trauslatione (?) imperii a Graecis ad Francos advers. 
f lacium lilyr., libb. III., Antv. 1589, and in opp. omn. Even DolUnger, Ch. 
H., Vol. II., p. 153, says : " The empire, the supreme autlaority of whicli was 
traivsferred to Charlemagne, was one which united the eastern and western parts 
of the Eoman Empire," etc. (Tk.) 

''■ Pairievus, i. e. as Savigny says in his Hist, of Roman Law in the M. A., Vol. 
I., p. 360, a lieutenant or governor with an independent pov/sr, such as had 
hitherto been exercised by the exarch of Eavenna. See Palma, prael. h. e., T. 
II., c. VII., p. 59-68, "De Eomano Patriciatu." Gre^roroCT'iis, Hist, of Eome, 
Vol. II., p. 503-513. 

' Of. Pagil critica in annal. Baronii ad a. 800, and ah Ekhwrt, Erancia orient, 
T. II., p. 7. 



166. Christian German or Roman Empire of the West. 149 



still everything — even the coins, seals, and inscriptions — pro- 
claimed that it was onl^'- a restoration of the Western Umpire 
(Renovatio Imperii). Charlemagne frequently and publicly 
avowed that this sudden elevation was a surprise to him, and 
that he was at a loss to account for it ; bnt he soon came to 
regard it as a providence of God, carried into eftect by the 
ibe visible Head of the Church.^ 

The establishment of the Western Empire put an end to 
the conflicts of the migratory Germanic tribes, and served as 
the keystone of the great political fabric into which the Ger- 
manic States were consolidated. Each of the Germanic na- 
tions, possessing individual and well-defined traits of charac- 
ter, and holding as a political axiom the principle that every 
commonwealth should be an outgrowth and expression of 
these distinctive traits, would consent to no system of cen- 
tralization, if the empire representing such did not itself 
recognize some superior and, universal piower, which might 
form a point of contact and a center of union for all. They 
all recognized the Church as such, and hence the Western 
Empire, being established on a thoi-otighly Christian basis, 
was called " The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation." 
The belief of the ancient Romans, that their eijipire was des- 
tined to endure for all time and bring all the nations of the 
world under one law, was analogous to the promise contained 
in the Gospel, that all the followers of Christ should be gath- 
ered into one fold and under 07ie Shepherd. 

The object, therefore, of the Church in establishing the 
empire, was to unite all nations by the one bond of Christian 
fellowship, and she impressed upon the mind of the Emperor 
the conviction that he was called of God to act as mediator 
and pacificator among all the States of Christendom. Hence, 
owing to the peculiar and intimate relations of the Emperor 
to the Church, and, in virtue of the command of Christ,^ he 
had, in a certain sense, a duty to bring the Pagan States' 

'It 5s therefore Charles called himself Carolus, divino nutu coronatus, Eo- 
mantiin gerens Impermm, serenissimus Augustus. Capit. addit. ad leg. Longo- 
bard. [Balm., T. I., p. 247) ; again, a Deo Coronatus. [Baluz., T. I., pp. 341, 345.) 

'' Mat. xxviii 18. 



150 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chajpter 2. 

of the West^ within the limits of his authority, that they 
might in this way be converted to Christianity. Charle- 
magne, too, seems to have been fully impressed with this 
great idea, and to have endeavored to carry it into effect by 
forming a family alliance with the imperial house of tho 
East, which he foresaw would bring all the kingdoms of the 
earth within the limits of his empire. It was never expected, 
however, that this universal empire (Imperium mundi) should 
confer upon him actual territorial jurisdiction, but only a 
supremacy of honor and authority over all other sovereigns. 
On the other hand, it was a duty incumbent on him, above 
all other princes, to honor and defend the Church, to main- 
tain her rights and prerogatives, and to set an example of fidel- 
ity to other sovereigns. Hence, Charlemagne, inspired with 
a thoroughly Christian sentiment, styled himself the devoted 
defender and humble protector of the Holy Church and of 
the Apostolic Roman See? Still, it should be borne in mind 
that neither was subject to the other, but that their relations 
were mutually co-ordinate, each rendering and receiving hom- 
age in his own sphere, and hence they gave each other the 
kiss on the mouth, an ancient form of salutation (adoration), 
expressive of -mutual homage. The oath o//m% (fidelitas), 
therefore, which the Emperor took to the Pope, as the Head 
of the Church, was simply a solemn expression of respect and 
reverence to his person, and was precisely the same in char- 
acter as that taken by the Pope to the Emperor. Moreover, 
the authority of the Pope over Rome and the States of the 
Church, as they had been established during the course of 

' Conf. Elchhorn, Hist, of the German States and their Laws, Vol. I., | -36. 

2 Ego Carolus gratia Dei ejusque misericordia donante Eex et rector rogni 
Francorum et demius sanctae ecclesiae defensor humilisque adjutor, in the prae- 
fatio Capitular., lib. I. [Baluz., T. I., p. 475.) In like manner do the bishops, 
assembled at Mentz (813), address him thus: Gloriosissimo et christianissimo 
• Imp. Carol. Aug. verae religmnis rectori ac defensoriSi. Dei ecclesiae, etc. (Man- 
heim., T. I., p. 405.) Of. capitulum de honoranda' sede apostolica a. 801 : Id 
memoriam beaii Petri Apostx>li honoremus sanciam Rom. et apostol. sedem, ut V"" 
nobis saeerdotalis mater est dignitatis, esse debeat magistra ecclesiasticae rationis. 
Quare servanda est cum mansuetudine humilitas, ut licet vix ferendum ab ilia 
sancta sede imponatur jugum, feramus et pia devotione toleremus. (Balm., T. 
I., p. 255.) ^ ' 



§ 166. Christian German or Roman JSm.pire of the West. 151 

the eighth century, remained, after the coronation of Charle- 
magne, just what it had been before — neither greater nor less. 
But the Pope, having acknowledged Charlemagne as supreme 
temporal ruler, was obliged, as sovereign of the States of the 
Church, equally with all other secular princes, to recognize the 
imperial supremacy of the Emperor over Rome and the Ro- 
man States. Apart from this general supervision of the in- 
terests of the Church, there was still a more particular sense 
in which the Emperor might take upon him to look after 
her concerns; for, being Patricius of Rome, or defender and 
guardian of the Church's political and secular rights, he 
might exercise a certain immediate jurisdiction in Rome. 
Difficulties having shortly arisen between the two, in conse- 
quence of the excessive claims of each, it became necessary 
to define more precisely the limits of their respective rights. 
This, in fact, was no more than a dictate of prudence; for, 
being the representatives of divine authority, and commis- 
sioned to work in harmony, in parallel lines of action — the 
one for the corporal, the other for the spiritual welfare of 
Christian nations — mutually sustaining and aiding each other 
in the great work of leading mankind on to its appointed des- 
tiny, it was but natural that, before entering upon the duties 
of their respective offices,^ they should reciproccdly recognize and 
he ready to respect each others rights. 



' The following are, the words of the Council of Paris, held A. D. 829, capitu- 
lar, lib. v., cap. 319 : Principaliter itaque St. Dei ecclesiae corpus in duas eximias 
personas: in sacerdotalem videlicet et regalem, sicut a SS. Patrihus traditum 
accepimus, divisum esse novimus. De qua re Gelasius, Eom. Sedis venerah. 
Episcopuri, ad Anastasium Imperat. ita soribit : duae sunt quippe imperatrices 
augustae, quibus principaliter mundus hie regitur : auctoritas sacrata Pontificum 
et regalis potestas, in quibus tanto gravius pondus est Sacerdotum, quanto etiam 
pro ipsis Eegibus hominum in divine reddituri sunt examine rationem. (Harduin, 
T. II., p. 893 Majzsi, T. VIII., p. 31. Cf. our Ch. H., Vol. I., p. 649.) Pul- 
gentius quoque in libro de veritate praedest. et gratiae ita scribit, lib. II., c. 22 . 
Quantum pcrtinet ad hujus temporis vitam, in ecclesia nemo Pontifice potior et 
in saeculo christiano Imperatore nemo celsior invenitur. (Max. bibl. T. IX., 
p. 247; also Baluz., T. I., p. 595, and T. II., p. 807 sq.) Although this passage, 
in its partial application, be in fact pseudo-Isidorian, still it contains nothing but 
what was then the generally received view. The words of the epitaph written 
by Charlemagne for Pope Hadrian are very significant : 

Nomina jungo simul tiUilis, Clarissimt., nostra : 
Hadrianns, Carolus, Hex ego, tuque Pater. 



152 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 2. 

The Pope, having invested Charlemagne with the imperial 
dignity, and sanctioned his universal supremacy in the eyes 
of the Christian world, reserved to himself, for the future, the 
right of crowning Christian emperors. The Emperor, on the 
other hand, in virtue of the alliance between the Church and 
the Empire, and, by the authority of precedents, obtained 
the privilege of confirming the election of the Head of the 
Church. 



CHAPTER in. 

EELIGIOUS LIFE — THE CLERGY DISCIPLINE. 

^Ozanam, Establishment of Christianity in Germany, and the moral and spir- 
itual Education of the Germans. Transl. from the French into German, llunich, 
1845; in his Oeuvres completes, 8 vols., Paris, 1855-1856, Vol. IV. (Te.) 

§ 167. Religious Life. 

To give an idea of the perfection to wbich the evangelical 
counsels were carried during this epoch, it will be sufficient to 
enumerate a few of the glorious uames which history has 
enshrined and the Church holds in honor. These are Pat- 
rick, Columba, Augustine, Columbanus, Gall, Severin, Valen- 
tine, Kilian, Emmeram, Rupert, Corbinian, Boniface, Ludger, 
Willehad, Yiho, and Hadumar, among missionaries and na- 
tional apostles ; and among those holy monks and abbots who 
spent their lives in the retirement of their monasteries, train- 
ing up hosts of saintly and devoted souls, through whose 
labors and influence the spirit of true religious life and solid 
piety was infused into the masses of the people, the great 
names of Gregory of Utrecht, Sturm of Fulda, Venerable 
Bede, and many others, deserve honorable mention. 

But the corruption prevalent among men of every condi- 
tion and rank, from kings — and notably those of the Mero- 
vingian dynasty — down to the meanest of their subjects, forms 
a shocking and repulsive contrast, when placed side by side 
with this life of evangelical perfection. The account of it 
which has come down to us from the pen of Gregory of Tours 
is simply startling.^ But between these two extremes of 
perfection and profligacy, there is a third phase, representing 
the everj'-day life of the German people. These were still 
full of the strong vigor of youth, enthusiastic and warlike, 



^Lobell, Gregory of Tours and his Age, Lps. 1839. Kries, de Gregorii Turou. 
vita et scriptis. Vratisl. 1848. 

(163) 



154 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 

passionately fond of the pleasures of Pagan feasts and given 
to idolatry, obstinately attached to their ancient customs and 
the votaries of magic, divination, necromancy, and other su- 
perstitious and inhuman practices. 

But the Church, in the meantime, not forgetting her holy 
mission, went about her work as became the Spouse of Christ, 
dispensing her treasures of divine grace, teaching her chil- 
dren to be virtuous, sending her missionaries into every land 
to instruct, to consecrate, and to direct, making herself all 
things to all men, that she might gain all and ennoble all. 
She alone was capable of preserving a sense of the true and 
the good in these barbarous people, so abruptly brought into 
contact with a corrupt and an eflete civilization. But, while 
possessing this strong but vague and undeveloped sense of the 
true, their mental habits were so out of harmony with the 
methods of Christian thought, that they were at first incapa- 
ble of receiving more than the most elementary and meager 
Gospel-teaching concerning the existence of God, the immortal- 
ity of the soul, the everlasting happiness of Heaven, and the end- 
less torments of hell. The great and essential truths of Chris- 
tianity, such as the doctrine of justification in Jesus Christ, 
the doctrine of grace, and the counsels of Christian perfection, 
were quite beyond and above the comprehension of the hulk 
of the people. The tendency in this people to set a great 
value on the things of earth, and to judge of everything as 
it appeared to the senses, will sufficiently account for their 
desire to see the Head of the Church and their bishops the 
equals of secular' princes, and for the sacrifices which they 

1 There is a very characteristic example of this popular prejudice in favor of 
a showy exterior, even as late as the twelfth century. The Spanish priest Eemr 
hard, who had been sent as a missionary into Pomerania, was treated with great 
disrespect by the inhabitants because of his humble and unprepossessing exte- 
rior. They could not conceive why the Lord of Heaven and earth should be 
pleased to have a beggar as His representative. 

John von Miiller, speaking on the same subject, says very justly : " Barbarians 
are quite incapable of appreciating what does not fall within the province of 
the senses. Their bishops, therefore, should display a certain magnificence, and 
their solitaries be distinguished by deeds of extraordinary power, if they would 
exert any influence over them." (Hist, of Switzerland, Stuttg. 1832, 16mo, Pt 
I., p. 138.) 



§ 167. Religious Life. 155 



were willing to make to carry this desire into effect. The 
Church therefore saw herself obliged either to e.xercise a cer- 
tain condescension and forbearance in dealing with the deeply 
seated Pagan pi-ejudices of these rude people, or to give up 
altogether their education and their future. This considera- 
tion will also sufficiently explain why, in spite of many and 
emphatic remonstrances, the Church was unable to eradicate 
at once the Pagan trials by ordeal, or, as they were called, 
judgments of God. She at iirst exerted lier influence and au- 
thority to abolish such of the ordeals as could not be prac- 
ticed without imminent danger to the life of the contestants, 
by substituting the oath in their stead wherever possible. The 
ceremouy of taking the oath was surrounded with circum- 
stances at once impressive and solemn. It was performed in 
c/ittrcA^ and accompanied with religious rites; and the inno- 
cence of the person on trial was attested by seven sworn wit- 
nesses or compurgators (the " septima manus" or "conjura- 
tores"), taken from his immediate neighbors and bearing 
. reputations of unimpeachable honesty. 

But wherever it was impossible either to abolish ordeals or 
substitute in their stead other modes of trial, the Church as-, 
sumed the charge of conducting them, and, following the 
precedent of St. Peter,^ entered upon them only after having 
commended the cause of the accused to God in solemn prayer. 
So universal was the practice of trial by ordeal, that provis- 
ions for it were incorporated among the laws of Charle- 
magne — a circumstance which rendered its abolition a long 
and difficult task.' 



' Omne saoramentum in ecclesia juretur, is enjoined by a capttulare of the 
year 744, c. 14. On the so-called cojurers as a means of proving anything in 
favor of the accused, see Harzheitn, Cone. Germ., T. I., p. 366. 

2 Acts i. 24. 

'These ordeals or judgments of God (from the ancient German or, great, and 
dele or daele, part, portion, lot, or deal, = German Urtheil) are to be found 
among all nations. They were practiced among the Greeks and Komans, in 
China, Japan, and East India, but particularly among the Germans, of whom 
Tacitus (German., c. 10) says; " Auspicia sortesque ut qui maxime observant," 
etc. These people were so attached to them tliat it seemed almost impossible to 
correct the abuse. Hence, Luitprand, King of Lombardy, declared: "Incorti 
sumus de judioiis Dei, et multos audivimus per puguam sine justitia causam 



156 Period 2. E'poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 



§ 168. The Clergy— Their Canonical Life— The Monks. 

Thomassini Vet. et nova eocl. Disc, Pt. I., lib. III., c. 2-9. — ^August. Thetner, 
Hist, of Eccl. Educational Institutions, p. 20-49. Chrodegangl regula, in Mansl, 
T. XIV., p. 313 sq.; in Harzhelm, T. I., p. 96; in Walter, Pontes juris eccl., p 
21-46. Conf. Pauli Mac. gesta episcopor. Metens. {Pertz, T. II., p. 267 sq.) 
FrU irich, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. II., p. 114-147.. ■\Gimel, The Canonical 
Life of tlie Clergy, Katisb. 1851. 

To reform the coarse habits and vulgar manners of the 
Germans required a clergy at once able, learned, and faithful. 
Gregory the Great was the first to undertake the task of 

suam perdere ; sed propter consuetudinem gentts nostras legem Implam vttare non 
jjossumus." 

The judgments of God were undoubtedly based on the belief that there existed 
a moral order in the universe ; and on the conviction that God would interfere, 
if necessary, to declare the guilt or innocence of the one on trial. And the 
stronger the faith of individuals and of whole nations in the power and pres- 
ence of God, the more will they be inclined to appeal directly to Him to decide 
what can not be ascertained by any other means. The judgments of God gave 
rise to tnany abuses and superstitions ; but undoubtedly the most dangerous of 
th(!se was the practice of presumptuously challenging or trying God, by calling 
upon Him to manifest Himself by some external sign, and to decide in the 
' most trivial affairs, simply because it was the will of man that He should 
do so. Cf. Isaias vii. 12. 

Neither is it unlikely that the Germans may have appealed to — 1. Holy Writ, 
in defense of their Pagan practice, as there are certain passages, both of the Old 
and New Testaments, which seemingly countenance it. Such are those in 
which God is represented as iramediately declaring His judgment, manifesting 
His pleasure or displeasure, conferring reward or inflicting punishment, when 
the circumstances are of sufficient importance to warrant this gracious inter- 
ference. There are, for example, the passages which relate to the sacrifice of 
Abel and Cain (Gen. iv. 4); to the Flood (Gen. vii.); to the destruction of Sodom 
(Gen. xix.); to the sudden punishment of Core, Dathan, and Abiron (Numb. 
xvi.), and of Ananias and Saphira (Acts v. 1) ; — or in which the decision of 
God is asked in prayer, as, for example, where instructions are given to apply 
the so-called water of jealousy (Numb. v. 12, 31); in the election of an Apostle 
to take the place of Judas (Acts i. 15-25; ; and many similar passages. Again, 
2. The great number of miracles, which always accompany the preaching of the 
Gospel and the introduction of Christianity into heathen lands, and which were 
of great frequency during the agitated period of the migrations, tended to 
familiarize men's minds with the manifestations of Divine power, and to give 
them a sort of assurance that God would interfere to make known the guilt or 
innocence of those who appealed to Him in the ordeal. 

They failed, however, to observe an important distinction between the mode 
of Divine manifestations as related in Holy Writ, and as shown forth in mira- 



§ 168. The Clergy— Their Canonical Life— The Monks. 157 

training a clergy of this character and standard. Having so 
changed and adapted his ancestral palace as to make it serve 
at once the purpose of a monastery and a seminary, he gath- 
ered about him a number of generous souls — some of whom 
were still in the flower of youth, and longed for the happiness, 
of serving the altar of God ; while others, already grown gray 
in the service of the Church, desired to close their lives under 
a religious rule, and divide their last days between intel- 
lectual labors, watching, and the exercises of a religious life. 
From this nursery of learning and piety came forth, among 
others, Augustine and Mellitus, the apostles of Great Britain, 
who founded in that island institutions closely resembling 
that of Gregory. These monastic institutions, which rapidly 

cles, and that, according to •which He was supposed to act in ordeals. In ttie 
first instance, He made known his pleasure, not hccause it was inaris will that 
He should do so, but His own, or because He graciously deigned to hear aid 
answer a fervejit prayer; in the second, He was expected to render a decisicn, 
not in answer to a prayer, or because it pleased Him to do so, but simply at the 
adding of man. 

As has been said above, the Church did now and then tolerate trial by ordeal, 
but always in humble submission to the will of God, and in the sense just stated. 
She would not have tolerated this manner of trial at all, had it not been impos- 
sible to abolish the practice at once. Pope Gregory the Great and Nicholas I., 
Agobard (Arohbishoji of Lyons), and Atto of Vercelli, and many councils, 
made most strenuous, but ineffectual, exertions to have the judgments of God 
discontinued. So general was the practice of settling the question of guilt or 
innocence by this method, that we find it recommended in a Prankish Capitu- 
lary of the year 809: " Ot omnes judicio Dei credant absque dubitatione." 
{Baluz, T. I., p. 332.) 

The forms of ordeal tolerated were those of lots, of hot and cold water, and of 
the cross ; the walking barefoot over a number of red-hot plowshares, and the 
carrying of a red-hot iron in the hands; the taking of the blessed morsel, and 
the reception of the Eucharist; the judgment of the bier, etc. (Cf. du Fresne, 
Glossarium, s. v. Sors Sanctorum, Campiones, etc.) 

The Synod of Valence, a. d. 855, c. 12, reprobates in emphatic language the 
duel as a form of ordeal: "Iniquissima ac detestabilis quarundam saecularium 
legum." 

The rules of the Church, setting forth the permissible forms of trial by ordeal, 
may be found in the "Ordo diSusior probandi homines de crimine suspectos pei 
ignites vomeres, oandens ferrum, aquam ferventem seu frigidam, in Fez, The 
saurus anecdotorum, T. II., p. 2, and in Mansi, T. XVIII., p. 353. Their vin- 
dication by Hincmar of Kheims, in his opp. T. II., p. 676. Conf. Fhillips, Hist, 
of Germ., Vol. I., p. 246-267. Dasu, Studies on the Hist, of the German Ordeals, 
Munich, 1857. 



158 Feriod 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3.. 

spread throughout Englmid,^ diffused the light of learning 
and holiness among the inhabitants of the districts in which 
they were set up, and, gradually extending their influence, 
were instrumental in bringing the same blessings upon the 
continent of Europe. 

At the request of many bishops, and in obedience to a 
number o^ synodal decrees, many seminaries were estab- 
lished in Spain during the course of the sixth century. 
Those of Prance and Germany were established by English 
missionaries, of whom St. Boniface was, beyond all question, 
the most active, energetic, and efficient. The biographer of 
St. Solus (c. A. D. 970) says that it is the peculiar happiness 
of the College of St. Boniface to have been the nursery 
"whence went forth the flower of the episcopacy, the priest- 
hood and the diaconate." These efibrts toward the formation 
of a good clergy were fully entered into and ably seconded 
by Chrodegavg, Bishop of Metz (c. a. d. 760). In order to 
exercise a more direct influence upon the studies and moi'als 
of his clergy, this bishop, following the example of St. Au- 
gustine, and in obedience to the instructions of the fourth 
Council of Toledo, assembled them about his cathedral church 
and subjected them to the rules and observances of canonical 
life. Ecclesiastics who led this sort of life, and who were on 
this account called canonici, were under the immediate su- 
pervision of the bishops, recited the office in choir, devoted 
themselves to the study of science, ate in the same dining- 
room, and slept in a common dormitory. As a rule, the 
bishop alone provided for their support. This manner of 
life spread rapidly throughout France, Germany, and Italy, 
where it was adopted, not alone by the clergy of cathedral 
churches, but by those of the larger parishes also — a fact 
which accounts for the origin of collegiate churches. But 
the clergy, in spite of these noble efforts and auspicious be- 
ginnings, continued, in many instances, the slaves of the 
coarse morals of the age. Bishops and priests, instead of de- 
voting themselves to the duties of their state and looking 

1 Of all the monasteries in England, Veneraile Sede (His. Eccl. Anglor., lib. 
III., c. 2) liestows special praise on that of Bangor, which, at the opening of the 
seventh century, contained twelve hundred monks. 



§ 168. The Clergy— Their Canonical Life— The Monks. 159 

after the salvation of their floclcs, might be seen engaged in 
the profession of arms, indulging in the pleasures of the 
chase, and lending the authority of their presence to undig- 
nified farces and unbecoming spectacles. Complaints grew 
more frequent, prohibitions more numerous and of less avail. 
The ordinationes absolutae, or the taking of orders with the 
understanding that an ecclesiastical benefice, or a place at 
some church, would not be required-^a practice contrary to 
the letter and spirit of the ancient canons — now gave occasion 
to the most deplorable scandals. A portion of the clergy, in 
some countries, were so utterly destitute of the very elements 
of learning and general culture that it was found necessary 
to reduce the standard of fitness for taking orders to the low- 
est possible requirements. The standard had fallen so loio, at 
one time, that the candidate for orders was only required to 
recite from memory the "Apostles' Creed," the " Our Father," 
and the formulae used in the administration of the Sacra- 
ments, and to be able to give a translation and an explanation 
of these prayers in the vulgar tongue.^ 

Some, destitute of every qualification which could recom- 
mend them as fit candidates for the ecclesiastical state, and 
still desirous of coming into possession of the lucrative posi- 
tions within the gift of the Church, had recourse to more 
dishonorable means to accomplish their ends, and purchased 
by briber}'" what they could not reach by merit. Having 
risen to wealth arid position by simony,^ their after-life was 
of a piece with this sacrilegeous dishonesty, and stained with 
the sins of immorality and concubinage.^ The theory main- 

1 Cone. Cloveshov. a. 747, can. 10 (Harduin, T. IIJ!., p. 1455; Mansi, T. XII., p. 
398) capitul. a. 789, c. 68 (Baluz., T. I., p. 172). Conf. responsa Stephan. II. in 
Barduin, T. III., p. 1987, can. 13, 14. 

^ Even Gregory the Great had occasion to take measures for the suppression 
of this practice, epp. lib. XI., ep. 60, Theodeherto regi Frauc.rum: Itaque 
Excellentia vestra Dei nostri mandatis inhaerens, studium ad congregandam 
Synodum pro sua mercede adhibere dignetur, ut omne a sacerdotibus corpcrale 
vitium et simoniaca haeresis, quae prima in eoclesiis iniqua ambitione suri<jxit, 
potestatis vestrae imminente censura, concilii definitione tollatur, et abscissa 
radicitus amputetur: ne si plus illic aurum quam Deus diligitur, etc. (opp. T. 
II., p. 1146.) Conf epp. lib. XI., ep. 61, 63. 

3 Grerjor. M. epp. lib. IX., ep. 106 (T. II., pp. 1010, 1011). Capitulare 1. a. 
802, cap 24 [Bcduz., T. I., p. 264). 



160 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 

tained in the seventeenth century by the Presbyterians, in a 
controversy with the Episcopalians, that the Guldean priests 
or canons rejected clerical celibacy, has been proved to have 
no foundation in history, and is equally at variance with Holy 
Scripture and the practice of the Church of Rome.-' 

Charlemagne, conceiving it to be his paramount duty to 
raise the standard of education and the tone of morality 
among the clergy, who should be the salt of the earth and 
the light of the world, took counsel of the ecclesiastical 
authorities, and, with their advice and concurrence, enacted 
severe laws for the suppression of clerical disorders f taking 
special care himself to do nothing which might be regarded 
as an infringement of the already existing statutes. Thus, 
for example, though he had passed a decree, at the Diet of 
Aix-la-Chapelle (a. d. 802), prescribing the manner of pro- 
ceeding against accused ecclesiastics, having afterward learned 
that Pope Gregory II. had already given instructions relative 
to the same matter, he at once withdrew his own decree, and, 
at the following Diet of Worms, declared that the case was 
beyond his competency, and that he placed it entirely in the 
hands of the bishops. 

In order the better to provide for the spiritual wants of his 
people, he abolished the defective and falsified collection of 
homilies then in use, and commissioned Paul the Deacon to 
compile another,' from the writings of St. Ambrose and St. 

1 Cf. Friedrich, Vol. II., p. 135 sq. Also, the account of the literature given there. 

2 ilany of the Capitularies begin with one of the following clauses : Apostol- 
icaesedishortatione; Monente Pontifice; Ex praecepto Pontificis. The follow- 
ing is the prohibition against hunting, capitul. a. 769, c. 3 : Omnibus servis Dei 
venationes et sylvaticas vagationes cum canibus, et ut accipitres et falcones non 
habeant, interdicimus. {Baluz., T. I., pp.135, 136.) Capitul. a. 802, c. 19. And 
the Cap. of the year 769, c. 1, is directed against carrying arms and engaging in 
war. Against plays, see Loreniz's Life of Alcuin, p. 150. 

sThe collection of Homilies (Homiliarium) was first printed at Spire, A. D. 
1482 ; again at Basle, a. n. 1493. Charlemagne says, in the Preface : Curae 
nobis est, ut ecclesiarum nostrarum ad meliora semper proficiat status, oblite- 
ratam paene literarum reparare satagimus officinam, et ad pernoscendam sacro- 
rum librorum studia nostro etiam quod possumus invitare exemplo. Inter quae 
jam pridem universos Y. ac N. T. libros, librariorum imperitia depravatos, ad 
amussim correximus. Conf. Ranhe's Hist, of the Homiliarium of Charlemagne, 
Studios and Criticisms, year 1855, p. 382-396. 



§ 168. The Clergy— Their Canonical Life— The Monks. 161 

Jerome, St. Augustine and St. Chrysostom, St. Leo and St. 
Gregory the Great. These homilies were intended to serve 
both as a resoui'ce for the less educated among the clergy, and 
as models for the more talented and cultivated. But the 
strictness with which he required the clergy to observe the 
so-called " Capitulary of Interrogation" contributed, perhaps, 
more than anything else, to remind them of their august 
state, and to impress upon them a proper sense of their ex- 
alted duties.* He, too, was chiefly instrumental in having 
the five great councils convoked, which assembled, almost 
simultaneously (a. d. 813), at the cities of Aries, Rheims, 
Mentz, Tours, and Chalons-sur-Sa6ne. The canons of these 
councils, which did so much toward correcting the abuses 
and elevating the moral tone of the clergy, were conhi-med by 
a Capitulary passed at the Diet of Aix-la-Ghapelle. finally, 
Charlemagne, having a high esteem of the manner of life 
introduced by Chrodegang, commanded that all ecclesiastics 
should be either monks or canons.^ His son, Louis, was 
equally zealous for the observance of the same rule of life, 
and, at the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (a. d. 816), labored to 
introduce community life among the clergy everywhere 
throughout the Frankish Empire. This he did to destroy 
that condition of servile dependence which marked the rela- 
tions of the lower clergy to their bishops, the latter of whom 
conducted themselves more like political masters than fath- 
erly pastors. 

The monks of this epoch were, in truth, the propagators of 
Christianity, the dispensers of its blessings, the pioneers of 
civilization, the instructors of the people, and the guardians 
and fosterers of science. If, in addition to this, we contrast 
their life of austerity, their zeal, and their works of charity 

1 CapUulare interrogationis de iis, quae Carolus M. pro communi omnium utili- 
tate interroganda constituit. Capitul. I. et II., a. 811 [Baluz., T. I., p. 327 sq.) 
Conf. Mohler, Charlemagne and his Bishops; the Synod of Mentz, a. d. 813. 
iTubg. Quart. 1824, p. 867-427.) 

^ After many prior enactments, such as the Capitul. Aquisgr., a. d. 789, c. 71, 
it is said in Capitul. I., A. D. 805, c. 9 : Ut omnes clerici unum de duobus eligant; 
aut pleniter secundum cauonicam aut secundum regularem institutionem vivere 
debeant. {Baluz., T. I., p. 296.) 
VOL. U — 11 



162 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 

with the effeminacy and dissoluteness of the secular clergy, 
we shall be at no loss to account for the feelings of respect, 
reverence, and love with which the people regarded them, or 
for the abundant liberality of which they were the object. 
Princes bestowed upon them considerable tracts of land in 
fief, and protected these gifts against pillage by stringent 
laws. Popes, too, conceded to them extraordinary privilegea 
and immunities. The abbot, although not entirely exempt 
from episcopal supervision, derived his authority directly 
from Rome, and enjoyed a degree of consideration nearly, if 
not quite, equal to that enjoyed by the bishop himself. Un- 
fortunately, however, after the death of Charles Martel, the 
abuse gradually crept in, of setting over monasteries lay ab- 
bots,^ whose morals ill-accorded with the purity of life re- 
quired in persons holding their office. These were called 
Abbacomites, in contradistinction to abbates legitimi. The Rule 
generally followed by the monks was that of St. Benedict, 
which Columbanus, Isidore, Bishop of Seville, Fruduosus, 
Bishop of Braga, and St. Boniface had wisely modified to 
suit the altered circumstances of people and country.^ 

§ 169. Penance and Discipline. Cf §§ 90 and 138. 

Tlieodori areliiep. Cantuar. (1690) Poenitentiale, ed. cum notis Jac. Petiti. 
Parisiis, 1679. (CoUectio conciliorum Z-aiiei, T. VI. ; narduin,Tl.\Tl..; Mansi, 
T. XII.) Halitgarius (t831), de vitiis et virtutib. et ordine poenitentium, libb. 
V. (ilax. Bibliotb., T. XIV., together with the Praefatio ad Poenitentiale lio- 
man. C'anis-ii Lect. antiq., T. II., Pt. II., p. 81-142.) Eegino Prumiensis, de 
Disciplina ecclesiastica veterum, praesertim Germanor., libb. II. (after 899), 
opera et studio Joaeh. Hildehrandi. Helmst., 1659, 4to.; ed. BoJmz. Paris, 1671; 
ed. Wasserschleben. Lps. 1840. jKunstmann, The Latin Penitential Books of 
the Anglo-Saxons, Mentz, 1844. Wasserschleben, The Penitential Ordinances 
of the Western Church, Halle, 1851, with an excellent Historical Introduction. 

The ancient system of penance, which exercised so direct 
and beneficial an influence in elevating and purifying the 
manners of the G-ermaus, underwent certain modifications on 
being introduced among them, rendered necessary by the 
traits of character peculiar to the people. 



' Conf. du Cange, Glossar. mediae et inflmae latinitatis, 8. v. Abbacomites. 
' The regulae Columbani, etc., in JSolstenius-Brockie, T. I., p. 166. Conf. Mon 
talembert, The Monks of the West, Vols. II. and III. 



§ 169. Penance and Discipline. 163 

Heretofore, penitents were permitted to confess their sins 
more or less frequently, as the piety and devotion of each 
might prompt ; but now, they were commanded, by positive 
law, to confess uniformly more frequently than formerly. 
Chrodegang pi-escribed that canons should confess to their 
bishops at least twice a year, and laymen oftener. Excellent 
regulations for administering the sacrament of penance, 
formed on earlier models,^ were issued, containing judicious 
instructions on the mode of treating and directing penitents 
so that they might derive the greatest amount of profit from 
their reception of the sacrament. These ■penance-hooks are 
of very early origin, some dating hack as early as the fifth 
century, and were first nscd by the British and Irish, among 
whom that of Vinnianiis was the best known. St. Colum- 
bajius {j A. D. 615) composed a penance-book for the Fraukish 
kingdom, to which, during the seventh and eighth centuries, 
were added some canons of the Frankish councils. It was 
again enlarged by Halitgar, Archhishop of Cambrai and 
Arras, who added what is known as the sixth book. 

Of the penance-books composed in England, those of Theo- 
dore, Archbishop of Canterbury (fA. d. 690); of his disciple, 
Venerable Bede (f a. d. 735), who had written on the subject 
before the death of his master; and of Egbert, Archbishop 
of York (fA. D. 767), were the best known and most gen- 
erally used. By the systematic arrangement of the materials 
contained in these works, a new and very valuable penance- 
book was compiled, the author of which is supposed to have 
been Venerable Bede. Something on the same plan was ac- 
complished in the Frankish Empire, probably by Commeanus, 
who also made the Anglo-Saxon penance-books the basis of 
his work. The best printed collection of tliera is that of 
Wasserschleben. 

It was the duty of the Synodal Courts to see that the ordi- 
nances with regard to confession were carried into effect. 
The bishop was required to preside once a year over an eccle- 
siastical court in each parish of his diocese. Seven persons 
were chosen from among the most trustworthy members of 

' See Vol. I., pp. 732, 733. 



1G4 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 

each community, who were called synodal witnesses, or 
deans [testes synodales, decani), and constituted a sort of jury, 
an institution which the Germans always had recoui'se to 
when a man's character was on trial, and which they wished 
to see adopted in the ecclesiastical courts, in as far as such 
form of trial was admissible. The duty of these persons was 
to watch over the conduct of the parishioners, and to give a 
report to the bishop, on his arrival, of all those who had, dur- 
ing the past year, transgressed the laws. In the performance 
of this duty, they were instructed to have no regard of per- 
sons, but to denounce the guilty, whoever they might be 
Their reports were made the basis of the judgments in every 
given case, and determined the quality of either the civil or 
ecclesiastical punishment.' 

The Examinntion of Conscience, so called, which formed a 
feature of these ecclesiastical courts, and included in the cat- 
egory of ofienses the various degrees and kinds of murder, 
unnatural lust, sacrilegeous robbery, sorcery, divination, the 
eating of carcasses, and so on, is important and useful in en- 
abling U3 to get a correct notion of the morality of the 
people during this epoch. Public sins were expiated by 
public penances. Conformably to the discipline which had 
been in use since the time of Leo the Great,^ those who 
confessed their sins privately to the priest were privately 
and at once absolved; but on condition, however, that they 
should do works of penance and expiation for a fixed period 
of time. 

But these penitential exercises were frequently commuted 
into long prayers, severe fasts, alms deeds, the ransom of cap- 

1 Oapitul. Carol. M. a. 769, c. 7 : Statuimus, ut singulis annis unusquisque Epis- 
copus parochiam suam soUicite circumeat, et populum confirmare et plebes 
docere et investigare ct prohibere paganas observationes, divinosque vel sorti- 
logos, aut auguria, phylacteria, ineantationes, vel omnes spurcitlas gentiliiun 
studeat. Capit. II. a. 813, c. 1 : Ut Episcopi oircumeant parochias sibi oom- 
missas et ibi inquirendi studium habeant de incestu, de parricidiis, fratricidiis, 
adulteriis, caenodoxiia et aliis malis, quae Deo contrai-ia sunt, quae in sacris 
scripturis leguntur, quae Christiani devitare debent. (Baluz., T. I., p. 345.) 
Description of Synodal Courts in Harzheim, T. II., p. 511. Dme, Tbe Prank 
isb Synodal-Courts (Journal of Canon Law, years 4 and 5). 

aSee Vol. I., p. 732. 



§ 169. Penance and Discipline. 165 

tives, and the like.' This change, as was natural among a 
rude and illiterate people, gave rise to a misapprehension of 
the real nature of penance, against which the Church was 
constantly obliged to guard. Hence she never relaxed her en- 
deavor to inculcate correct ideas on the nature and effects of 
the sacrament of penance, and to impress the faithful with a 
sense of the gravity and severity of the ancient penitential 
discipline.^ "Whosoever refused to undergo ecclesiastical 
punishments, together with such as had committed great and 
flagrant crimes, were excommunicated by the Church and 
treated with corresponding severity by the State. They were 
declared incapable of bearing arms, denied the privilege of 
marrying, and were otherwise restricted in the exercise of 
their rights. If ecclesiastics, they were deprived of benefices 



^ Gonf. Si. Banff acii statuta A. D. 745, can. 31 : Quia varia necessitate praepe- 
dimur, canonum statuta de reconciliandis poenitentitus plei;iiter observare: 
propterea omnino non diniittatur. Curct unusquisque presbyter statim post 
acceptam confessionem poenitentium, singulos data oratione reconciliari. Slori- 
entibus vero sine cunctamine communio et reconciliatio praebeatur. [Mansi, 
T. XII., p. 386, and capitular, lib. VI., c. 206, where, after presbyter, it is 
added : Jussione Episcopi de occultis tantum, quia de manifestis Episcopo sem- 
per oonvenit judicare. Baluz., T. I., p. 641.) 

'Particularly important Cone. Cloveshov. II. a. 747, can. 26: Vicesimo sexto 
loco de utilitate eleemosynae Patrum sentcntiae prolatae sunt. — Postremo igitur 
(sicuti nova adinventio, justa placitum scilicet propriae voluntatis suae, nunc 
plurimis periculosa consuetudo est) non sit eleemosyna porrecta ad minuendam 
vel admuiandam satisfacUonem per jejunium et reliqua expiationis opera, a sacer- 
dote Dei pro suis criminibus jure canonico indict.am, sed mat/is ad a-uc/meniaiidam 
.emendaiionem suarn, ut eo cUius placeter dimnae indirfnaiionis ira, quam suis pro- 
vocavit sibi propriis meritis: et inter haec sciat, quod quanto magis inclita 
(illicita?) perpetravit, tanto magis a Ileitis se abstinere debet. {Mansi, T. XII., 
p. 404; Harduin, T. HI., p. 19-58.) — Cone. Cabillon. II. (Chalons) a. 813, can. 25: 
Poenitentiam agere juxta antiquam canonum institutionem in plerisque locis ab 
usu recessit, et neque reconciliandi antiqui moris ordo servatur : ut a domino 
imperatore impetretur adjutorium, qualiter si quis publico peccat, publica mulc- 
tetur poenitentia, et secundum ordinem canonum pro merito suo excommunice- 
tur et reconcilietur, and can. 34: Neque euini pensanda est poenitentia quantitate 
temporis, sed ardore mentis et mortiflcatione corporis. Cor autem contrituni et 
humiliatum Deus non spernit. (Mansi, T. XIV., pp. 98, 100; Harduin, T. IV., 
p. 1036 sq.) Concerning the change, for instance, of fasting, into other good 
works, it is said in Salitgar., lib. poenitont. ; Sed unusquisque attendat, cui dare 
debet, sive pro redemptione captivorum, sive super sanctum altare, sive pro 
pauperibus Christianis erogandum. 



166 • Period 2. E];)och 1. Part 1. Chapter 3. 

or other positions of emolument, degraded, and cast into 
prison. 

Both Church and State were especially vigilant in guarding 
against a return to the usages of Paganism and superstitious 
practices, and they pursued such as attempted anything of 
this nature with the utmost rigor.^ 

The Church of Germany, at, this time, had many points of 
resemblance to the Old Testament theocracy; for, in Ger- 
many, as formerly in Judea, the union of both Church and 
State was as absolutely necessary as are moral training and 
external discipline in any effective system of education for 
youth. 

The mission and purpose of the Church would have been 
wholly misapprehended had she commenced her work among 
an untutored and barbarous people by preaching to them of a 
religion of the spirit and of the interior freedom enjoyed by the 
children of God. Such language could not have been compre- 
hended, and her words would have returned to her void. 
Such a course would have destroyed her influence at the very 
outset. 

But that the Church did then, as in all ages, retain a pro- 
found consciousness of the supreme and living significance 
of Christianity, is abundantly proved bj' the fact that num- 
bers of her children realized, in tlic purity and holiness of 
their lives, her highest standard of Christian perfection; and 
\>y the further circumstance that many of her canons, enacted 
at this time, protest, again aud again, that external practices do 
not constitute the essential elements of true jyenance, and that 
almsgiving is not more effective. The Council of Cloveshove 
stated, in replj'- to a wealthy person who applied for absolution 
from a great sin on the ground that he had given abundant 
alms, that if divine justice could be so propitiated, it would 
be in the power of the wealthy to do what Christ alone, and 
a participation in the work of liis redemption, could effect,' 

1 Capitulare Carlom. Princ. a. 742, c. 5, and Capitul. a. 7G9, c. G, pouf. Cap'tnl 
lib. VI., c. 19C, 197, 215; oonf. P/dUtjis, Gorm. Hist. Vol. II., p. 3i2 sq. 
^Conc. Cloveshove, A. D. 747, can. 2G. See above, p. 1G5, aoto 2. 



CHAPTER rV. 

SCIENTIFIC LABORS OP THE GERMANS. 

The works of Du Fin, Ceillier, Cave, Oudinus, T. I.; see Vol. I., p. 24, note 1, 
^Hock, Gerbert, or Pope Sylvester II., Vienna, 1887, p. 17-22. Siaudenmaier, 
Scotus Erigena, Pt. I., p. 295-298. Alzog's Patrology, 2d ed., p. 413 sq. 

§ 170. General Character of Science during This Epoch. 

Daring the period comprised within the present epoch of 
the Middle Ages, when attempts were being made to adjast 
and consolidate what had been previously cast into confusion 
and to draw order from chaos, science, like every other branch 
of ecclesiastical life, exhibited no marks, either of stability 
or consistency. It was in a state of preparation ; all the ele- 
ments were indeed at hand, though they had not yet com- 
bined ; and the result, it was clear, would largely depend on 
the action of external influences. Later on, we shall see the 
fathers and schoolmen of the twelfth and thirteenth centu- 
ries, like the philosophers of Athens and the prophets of Judea, 
bearing up under oppression and persecution, conflicts and 
wars, such as would have terrified and subdued souls less 
courageous or hearts less dauntless. In the present epoch, as 
in the earlier day of Alexandria and Rome, mental activity 
and literary culture were accelerated or retarded by the in- 
fluence of events which seemed the result of chance rather 
than the consequence of design. 

§ 171. Progress of Science in Italy, Spain, and the British Isles. 

Bahr, Christian Eoman Theology, being a Literary and Historical Eeview. 
Carlsruhe, 1837. 

In Italy, even amid the shock -and convulsions attending 
the migration of the barbarians,, some traces of the former 
literature of that land were preserved in the writings of the 

(167) 



168 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Cha'pter 4. 

ScytEian Denys the Little (f before a. d. 536) ; of Primasius,^ 
Bishop of Adrumet (f c. a. d. 550), who collected the most 
ancient of the commentaries on the Bible; but particularly 
in the works of Boethius^ (f a. d. 524) and Cassiodorus^ (f c, 
A. D. 565), both of whom were statesmen and philosophers. 

In Gregory the Great were revived the nobility of mind and 
grandeur of character which had distinguished the old Fath- 
ers of the Church. The last three contributed, each in his 
own way, to introduce the treasures of ancient Christian and 
Pagan classic literature among the Germans. 

The first of the Germans who entered upon the field of 
scientific studies, and excited a noble emulation among their 
countrymen in the same direction, destined in succeeding 
years to produce the most important results, were Ulfilas 
(fA. D. 383), the historian Jornandes (c. a. d. 550), and Greg- 
ory of Tours (t A. D. 594) ; while the most distinguished of 
the Spaniards were Isidore, Archbishop of Seville (f a. d. 
636), who wrote many excellent works, and in his various 
treatises on eccesiastical subjects,^ evinced a remarkable de- 

' Primasii episc. African!, divi Augustini quondam discipuli, in univers. divi 
Pauli epist. commentarius (max. bibl. T. X., p. 142 sq. ; in Migne, ser. lat., T. 68.) 

2 0pp. omn. ed. Rota, Basil. 1570 f. ; in Migne' s ser. lat., T. 63-64. Commen- 
tary on and translation of Aristotle; de duabus naturis et una persona; quod 
Trinitas sit unus Deus; de consolatione philosophiae, libb. Y. ed. Olbarius, 
■Tenae, 1843. Against the doubts raised by Hand (Cyclopaedia by Erscb and 
Gruber, s. v. Boethius) and by Obbarius, in his Prolegomena 1. c, as to whether 
the treatise, de consolatione philosophiae, could be attributed to tlie author of the 
dogmatic treatises just quoted, because Boethius did not, so it is said, show him- 
self there as a Christian, nor as a Christian philosopher, conf. Baur, de Boethio, 
christianae doctrinae assertore, Darmstadt, 1841; Gfrorer, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 
948 sq., and Teipel, Studies on the Hist, of the Primitive Christian Ages, 2d ed., 
§ 50. According to Riiter, Hist, of Christ. Philos., Vol. II., p. 580 sq., and 
Nitzf^-.h, The System of Boethius and the Theological "Writings attributed to 
him, Berlin, 1860, the decision inclines even more against the identity of the 
author of all these writings. Conf. Alzog's Patrology, p. 413. 

^ 0pp. omn. ed. Garetius, Rothomag. 1079, Yen. 1729, 2 T. f., and in Migne, ser. 
lat., T. 69-70, De artib. ac discipl. liberal. litt. ; Institutio ad divin. lection., libb. II. ; 
Hist. eccl. tripartita. Variar. epp., libb. XII.; historia Gothorum in Ahog, p. 416. 

^Isidori Hispal. opp. ed. Paust. Arevalus. Eom. 1797, 7 T.4., in Migne, ser. lat., 
T. 81-84. His principal works are: •■■Originum seu Etymologiarum, libb. XX.: 
A summary of the science of his Ago, set forth in a cyclopaedical and historical 
manner (edited separately in Corpus grammatioorum latinorum by Otto, T. III). 
Bontentiarum seu de sumrao bono, libb. III,(the foundation of the later sententi- 



§ 171. Science in Italy, Spain, and British Isles. 169 

gree of originality and independence of thought; and his 
disciple, Ildephonse, Archbishop of Toledo (f a. d. 667), who, 
amid the onerous duties of a long and holy life in the episco- 
pate, managed to find time to devote to deep and scientifi 3 
studies. 

The Roman missionaries who came to evangelize the Brit- 
ish Isles retained their love of study, and were the first to 
diffuse a taste for literature among the inhabitants. Theodore, 
Archbishop of Canterbury (a. d. 668-690), a native of Tarsus, 
in Cilicia, and Abbot Hadrian, in whom were combined the 
genius of Eoman civilization and the language and culture 
of Greece, founded many schools in England, from which, in 
succeeding years, a great number of classical scholars came 
forth. It was from the monasteries of Ireland and Britain, 
where knowledge was cultivated and fostered with an ardor 
and love such as religion alone can impart to intellectual pur- 
suits, that those great moral heroes issued, who, from time to 
time, crossed over to the continent of Europe to revive an 
extinct or to preserve a decaying civilization. Venerable Bede 
early brought science in England to a surprising degree of 
perfection.^ When seven years of age, he entered the school 
attached to the monastery of Wearmouth, and, after having 
passed thirteen years here, under the care of Abbot Benedict 
Biscop and his successor, Ceolfrid, he was removed to the 
sister monastei'y of Jarrow, situated, like the former, in' 
B'orthumbria, where he was admitted to deacon's orders, and, 
when in his thirtieth year, ordained priest by John of Bev- 
erly, then Bishop oP Hexham. Sheltered, in this retreat of 
quiet and holiness, from the storms of barbaric strife that 
raged with so much violence in the outer world, he earnestly 

arii). Histovia Gothorum, Vandal, et Suevor. in Hispania. Collectio Canon. 
Concilior. et cpp. decretal., after\tard, probably wrongly, attributed to him: de 
scriptoribus eccles.; de ecclesiasticis offioiis, lib. II. 

^Bedae Venerab. opp. omn., Paris, 1521, 1544-15-5-1, 3 T. fol.; Basil. 1563; 
pirated impression, Cologne, 1612 and 1688, ed. Giles, London, 1843 sq, 8vo, in 
Migne, T. 90-95. — English versions of his Ecclesiastical History were published 
by Stapleton, in 1565; by Stevens, in 1723; by Hurst, in 1814; by Wilcock, in 
1818; and by Giles, in 1840. (Tr.) The Vita Bedae Ven. by Cuihbertus, placed 
at the head of his works. Cf. also Gehle, De Bedae Venerab. vita et scriptis, 
Lugd. Batavor. 1838. 



170 Period. 2. Ejjoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

applied himself to study, and spent his days in acquiring 
a knowledge of such literature as was accessible to a student 
of that age and country. He was well acquainted with Latin 
and Greek, and partially with Hebrew, medicine, astronomy, 
and prosody. After having gone through his ordinary exer- 
cises of piety, said Mass, recited his divine office, and devoted 
some time to the study of Holy Scripture, he found his great- 
est pleasure in adding something to his store of secular knowl- 
edge, in teaching and in composing. Among his writings 
are homilies, lives of saints, hymns, epigrams, treatises on 
chronology and grammar, and commentaries on the books of 
the Old and New Testaments. His calm and gentle disposi- 
tion, the humanizing character of his pursuits, his benevo- 
lence and holiness of life, are in striking contrast with the 
din of battle and the savage fury of the tempest that raged 
at this time over the fair face of all England. He was truly 
a light shining out in the midst of darkness. His writings 
have secured for him the distinction of an unquestionable 
pre-eminence in the ancient literature of Britain, and the rep- 
utation of having been, in all probability, the most learned 
man of the world in his age. 

The death of this great scholar and saint of the Church 
was of a piece with his preceding life. During the fourteen 
days previous to this sad event, and while enduring the 
pain of a malignant disease, he was employed in translating 
the Gospel of St. John into the Anglo-Saxon tongue, and in 
teaching youth. Even when his disease grew so violent that 
he could breathe only with great difficulty, he still continued 
to teach during the whole day ; and, on the very day of his 
death, dictated to an amanuensis, and urged his scholars to 
learn quickly, saying : "Make haste and learn; I know not 
how long I shall be with you, or whether God will not shortly 
take me to himself." He died May 26, a. d. 735, while sing- 
ing the words of the doxology, Gloria Patri et Filio ct Spir- 
itui Sancto, and surrounded by his disciples and the priests of 
the monastery, to the latter of whom his last words were an 
earnest entreaty to say the Holy Mass devoutly, and to pray 
for his soul. He was buried in the monastery of Jarrow, 



§ 172. Labors of Charlemagne for Diffusion of Knowledge. 171 

whence his bones were removed, in the middle of the elev- 
enth centnry, to Durham.^ 

§ 172. Labors of Charlemagne for the Diffusion of Knowledge. 

Thomassini 1. c, Pt. II., lib. I., c. OG-100. F. Lorentz, Life of Alcuin, Halle, 
1829. ScliuUe, de Ciiroli Til. in litorarum studia meritis, Slonast. 1826. Bdhr, 
de literarum studiis a Carolo M. revocatis ac schola Palatina inataurata, Heidel- 
berg, 1850. By the same author; Hist, of Eoman Literature in the Carlovin- 
gian Age, Carlsruhe, 1840. 

Altli^ngh St. Boniface has the honor of having been the 
first to awaken a desire and cultivate a taste for scientific 
studies in the inhabitants of the Frankish Empire, still the 
rapid and general difi'usion of knowledge was especially due 
to the generous encouragement and intelligent elibrts of 
Charlemagne. He gathered about him, in his own court, a 
second band of distinguished scholars, who, unlike those in 
England, and formerly in France, were neither Eomans nor 
Greeks, but for the most part Germans. Charlemagne had 
acquired a taste for letters and intellectual pursuits during 
his stay in Italy, but being now at an advanced age, and 
having passed his life in the profession of arms, lie realized 
with pain that i\\Q hand which had wiekled the sword with 
so much vigor was but ill adapted to the exercises of the pen. 
But, while unable himself to make any considerable progress 
in learning, he zealously stimulated the desire in others, and 
seized every opportunity to promote its advancement. He 
induced Peter of Fisa, and Faulinus, Patriarch of Aquileia 
(t A. D. 804), to leave Italy and take up their residence at his 
court. At the request of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, 
Paid Warncfried,^ ov Paulus Diaconus, of the abbey of Monte 
Cassino, became his master of Greek, won his confidence, and, 
with only temporary interruptions, retained his friendship 
until his own death, which occurred a. d. 799. But, of all 
those learned men whom Charlemagne had attracted to his 



■ Sec Chambers' Cyclopaedia, art. Boda or Bede. — Bishop Vllathorne, of Bir- 
mingham, stoutly maintains that the bones of Venerable Bede are still resting 
at Durham; while the Benedictine monks of Subiaco no less stoutly maintain 
that his relies were, after the Reformation, first brought to Gibraltar, and wera 
subsequently transferred to Subiaco, where they are actually venerated. (Tr.) 



172 Period 2. JSpoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

court, none possessed nearly so much influence over his mind 
as the English monk Alcuin, formerly the head master of the 
school of York, and incomparably the greatest scholar of his 
age. Prudentlj^ availing himself of the influence which, as 
friend and counselor, he possessed with the Emperor, he re- 
organized the Sehola Palatina, established in the vicinity of 
the imperial palace, for the education of the youth of the 
higher ranks, upon a new basis, and established others at all 
the cathedrals and cloisters of the empire, in which a com- 
plete curriculum of studies, embracing the so-calle^ seven 
liberal arts, was adopted. This consisted of the Trivium, com- 
prehending grammar, dialectics, and rhetoric, and the Qua- 
drivium, comprehending arithmetic, geometry, music, and 
astronomy. The disquisitions of Martianus Capella and Cas- 
iiodorus, based upon models left by the educators who had 
preceded them, exercised no inconsiderable influence upon 
the organization of schools of learning.^ Toward the close 
of his life, Alcuin wished to withdraw from the bustle of 
court and the distraction of temporal concerns to prepare, in 
quiet, for his departure from this world. But, though the 
]ilmperor acceded to his request in so far as to release him 
from immediate and laborious service, he still wished him to 
aid, by his advice, the work to which so many days of his 
life had been consecrated. The abbotship of the monastery 
of St. Martin, at Tours, having become vacant, in the year 
796, it was conferred upon Alcuin, who, however, shortly 
after, conscious of the approacli of death, and desiring to be 
free frotn all care, resigned it in favor of one of his disciples. 
He had often expressed a wish, during the last years of his 
life, to die on the feast of Pentecost, which God, whom he 
had so faithfully served, was graciously pleased to grant. He 
departed this life May 19, a. d. 804. 
Alcuin, after he had become abbot of St. Martin's, estab- 



' A resumd, containing substantially everything of importance relating to tbo 
teven liberal arts, is to be found in TcrenUus Varro, Cicero's friend; more defi- 
nitely in St. Augustine, viz., in his works de ordine et doctrina Christiana, and 
likewise in the fantastic treatise of another African, Martianus Capella, de nup- 
tiis Philologiae et Mercurii, de septem artibus liberalibus, libb. IX., ed iTqjip, 
Prof. 1836; ed. Eissenhardt, Lips. 1866. 



§ 172. Labors of Charlemagne for Diffusion of Knowledge. 173 

lished a school at Tours,' whence issued such men as Amala- 
rius of Treves; Rabanus of Mentz; Hetto, Abbot of Fulda; 
Ilaimon, Bishop of Halberstadt, and Samuel of Worms. 

Besides the schools already mentioned, there were many 
others in a flourishing condition at this period, or shortly 
after. Such were those of Orleans, Toulouse, Lyons, Rheims, 
Corbie, Aniane, Saint-Germain-d'Auxerre, Saint-Qall, Heich- 
enau, Hirsau, Fulda, Utrecht, Mentz, New-Corbie (Corvey on 
the Aller), Treves, and others. 

In these retreats of learning, where the reason was severely 
exercised, the intellectual faculties trained to quick apprehen- 
sion and subtle distinction, and the heart fed and warmed by 
the writings attributed to Denys the Areopagite, which were 
now coming into general favor, might be discerned — faintly, 
indeed, but unmistakably — the elements which produced that 
long race of laborious Schoolmen and 31ystics who became so 
prominent during the Middle Ages. 

• A tolerably correct idea of the degree of excellence reached 
in scientific studies and literature, in this epoch, may be had 
from the various treatises, writings, and ecclesiastical hymns 
that have come down to us from the scholars and poets of 
that age.^ 

There can be no doubt that the primary motive which 
stimulated Charlemagne to found and protect schools was 
the formation of a learned and efficient body of clergy. 
This, however, need excite no surprise, as religion was then 
the center of all that constituted intellectual and spiritual 
life. But the education of the people was by no means neg- 
lected, as is proved by the ease of Theodidph, Bishop of Or- 

^Alcuini opp. ed. JTrobenius, Katisb. 1776 sq., 2 T. f., in Migne's ser. lat., T. 
99-101. They contain 232 important letters, lives of saints, poems, treatises, 
and extend over almost all branches of human knowledge. 

'We remind the reader but of the following: Prayer to God, "Bex Deus 
immensi quo constat," hj Eugenius of Toledo (1637); "Crudelis Herodes, Deum 
regem venire quid times," and "Ad regias Agni dapes," by SeduUus (Sheii, an 
Irishman. — Tk.); of the Holy Innocents, "Hymnum canentes martyrum," "by 
Beda the Venerable; Hymn on St. John B., "XJt queant laxis resonare fibris," 
\>j Paulus Diaconus: to God, "Te homo laudet,"by /Itoa'n; "Veni creator spir- 
itus," preiendedly by Charlemagne; the anthem for Palm Sunday, "Gloria, laus 
et honor," by Tlieodulph of Orleans. 



174 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

leans (f a. d. 821), a zealous co-laborer of Charlemagne in the 
cause of learning, who founded primary schools^ in his dio- 
cese for the benefit of his flock, and it was not long before 
many followed his example.^ 

§ 173. First Heresies — Adelbert and Clement — Adojitionism. 

I. Elipandi cpp. ad Pidelem abbatem; ad Carol um M. (in Florez, Espana 
Sagrada, T. V., an. 1751 and again 1859); ad Alcuinum; ad Felicem (nuper 
conversum). Beaii et Eiherii de adoptiono Filii Doi advers. Elipand., libb. II. 
(Canisii lectt. antiq., T. II., Pt. I., p. 279 sq., and Galland. bibl., T. XIII., p. 
290 sq. Miync, ser. lat., T. 96.) Alcuini liboll. advers. haeres. Felicis; ep. ad 
Policem;' advers. Folic., lib. VII.; advers. Elipand., lib. IV". (opp. ed. Froien., 
T. II.) Paulini Aquilejensis sacrosyllabus et cont. Felic, libb. III. (opp. ed. 
Madrisius. Vonet. 1787 fol.) Ar/obardi archiep. Lugdun. advers. dogma Felic. 
(opp. ed. Baluzius, Paris. 16G6.) in hibl. max. Lugd. T. XIII. ot XIV.; in Migne, 
sei'. lat. T. 99-101. Letters and Documents in Mansi, T. XIII. Harduin, T. 
1\., p. 863 sq. German in Bosler's Librarj' of tbe Fathers of the Churcli, Pt. 
X., p. 569-590. Hefele, Hist, of Councils, Vol. III., p. COl-654. Werner, Hist, 
of Apolog. and Polem. Literat., Vol. II., p. 433 sq. 

II. Madrisii dissert, de Felicis et Elipandi haeresi, in his cd. opp. Paulini. 
Fr. Walch, Hist. Adoptianor., Gotting. 1755. Frobenil dissert, do haeres. Elip. 
et Felic. (opp. Alcuijii, T. I.) Eelatio historica de ortu et progressu haerosium, 
praesertim vero Augusto-Vindelicor., Ingolst. 165-4. WalcJi, Hist, of Heretics, 
Pt. IX., p. G67 sq. Against him, Enhueber, dissertat. dogmat. hist, quae contra 
Christ. Walc/dum adoptionis in Christo homino assortores, Felicem et Elip. 
merito ab Alcuino Nestorianismi fuisse petitos ostenditur [in Alcuini O'p'p., T. 
I., etc.; in Migne, T. 101, p. 337-438). Seiiers, Boniface, p. 418 sq. Helffericli, 
^'isigothic Arianism, Hist, of Spanish Heretics, Berlin, 1860, p. 86-151. 

About the year 744, when St. Boniface was in the very 
midst of his labors and the full tide of success, ho encoun- 
tered a most formidable opponent in a Frank by the name 
of Adelbert. 



' His indefatigable activity is most conspicuous in his capitularo ad parochiae 
suae saoerdotes, A. D. 797, in Harduin, T. IV., p. 913 sq. Mansi, T. XIII., p. 
995 sq. 

2 A circular of Charlemagne, addressed to all the bishops and abbots in 788, 
recommends the erection of these schools, "constitutio de scholis per singula 
Kpiscopia et monasteria instituendis." Capitul. Aquisgr. a. 789, c. 70: Non 
eolum servilis conditionis infantes, sed etiam ingenuorum Alios adgregent (oan- 
onici et monachi) sibique soeient. Et ut scholae legentium puerprum fiant, 
Psalmos, notas, cantus, computum, grammaticam per singula monasteria vel 
episoopia discant. Sed et libros catholioos bene emendatos habeant, quia saepo 
dum bene aliquid Deum rogare cupiunt, per inemendatos libros male rogant. 
{Baluz., T. I., p. 173.) 



§ 173. First Heresies — Adoptionism. 175 

This enthusiast assembled the people for divine worship in 
the field and in the open air, and imposed upon their credul- 
ity by pretending to have received relics from the hands of 
an angel, and distributed among them copies of a letter 
which, as he said, had fallen from heaven and alighted in the 
center of the city of Jerusalem. With empty vanity he com- 
pared himself to the apostles, vs^hose equal he pretended to 
be; caused houses of prayer to be dedicated to his honor, be- 
cause, as he claimed, God wonld infallibly grant a request 
made in his name; and assorted that, as he knew by intuitive 
vision the secrets of every man's conscience, confession was 
wholly useless. Confession was therefore abolished by him, 
veneration of saints reprobated, and pilgrimages to holy 
shrines discontinued. 

Boniface made use of every available means to counteract 
the influence of this visionary. lie preached against him, 
drew the attention of the first Council of Soissous (a. d. 74-1:), 
and of a council held at Rome in the succeeding year, to his 
doctrines, and finally caused his imprisonment at Fnlda. 
Having escaped from this place of confinement, he was seized 
by shepherds, robbed, and murdered. 

Clement, an Irish bishop, whose case had occupied tbe at- 
tention of the last-named council, was also among the adver- 
saries of Boniface. He assailed some of the teachings and 
practices of the Church with great vigor and pretentious dis- 
play, but with little, if any, real ability. He objected to the 
Judaico-theocratic constitution of the Church, denied that 
the canons of councils aiid the writings of the Fathers are a 
safe rule of faith, and, drifting still further from the true 
spirit of Catholic teaching, held erroneous opinions on some 
fundamental doctrines of the Church, such as predestination. 
He also held that, when Christ descended into the regions of 
the dead. He set free all those who had been confined in hell, 
whether believers, infidels, or idolaters. He advocated and 
practiced lax principles of morality, rejected celibacy, and 
continued to exercise episcopal functions, Hhough living with 



^Bonifacii ep. ad Zachariam, in Serarius, 135 (Max. Bibl., T. XIII., p. 126 aq.), 
in Wurdtwein, ep. 67. Conf. JSarduin, T. III., p. 1935 sq. Mansi. T. XII., p. 



176 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

a concubine, by whom he had two sons. He was condemned 
to a life of confinement, by order of the Synod of Rome 
(a. d. 745). 

These were but trifling errors, when compared with the 
magnitude of Adoptionism, and the vital consequences it in- 
volved. This heresy was little more than a revival of the old 
Greek controversies on the nature of Christ, but particularly 
of ITestorianism, according to which the Hypostatic Union' 
was denied, and so wide a distinction drawn between the di- 
vine and human natures in Christ, as to amount to a separa- 
tion of them into two persons. The heresy of Ifestorius grew 
out of an attempt to give a rational explanation of the doc- 
trine of two natures in one person, and to make it clearly in- 
telligible to the understanding.^ The distinctive doctrine of 
the adoptionists was that Jesus Christ, inasmuch as He was 
man, was the Son of God by adoption. 

If the accounts that have come down to us may be trusted, 
the first traces of this heresy in the West were to be found in 
Spain, where it gave evidence of its presence as early as the 
sixth century. Isidore of Seville (fA. d. 636) states that Jus- 
tinian, Bishop of Valencia (a. d. 535), wrote against some who 
had adopted the ancient error of the Bonosians,^ asserting 
that Christ was not the Son of God in any proper sense (pro- 
prium), but by adoption. The error spread with great rapid- 



373 sq. Natal. Alex. h. e. saec. VIII., c. II., art. 2. Walch, Hist, of Heret., Pt. 
X., p. 3-65. 

1 See Vol. I., p. 594. 

2 Although Adoptionism was, in a certain sense, a revival of Nestorianism, it 
should not be regarded as embracing precisely the same doctrines as the latter. 
The following are the chief points of difference between the two : 1. The Adop- 
tionists did not object to the term Qeo-dicnq as applied to the Blessed Virgin, 
while the denial of such application of this term was the very basis of the Nes- 
torian heresy. 2. The Adoptionists admitted, and the Nestorians denied, that 
there was but one Person in Christ. But the former, while admitting this, 
explained their meaning, by saying that the two Persons were so closely allied 
as to practically amount to but one Person, though there was no absorption of 
the human personality into the divine. 3. The Adoptionists taught that Christ 
assumed humanity, while the Nestorians, inverting this order, said that Christ 
had exalted Himself by his virtue. (Te.) Cf Blunts Diet, of Heresies, art 
Adoptionists. 

8 See Vol. I., p. 761. 



§ 173. First Heresies — Adoptionism. 177 

ity, and the eleventh Council of Toledo (a. d. 675), taking up 
the question, declared : " This Son of God is His Son by 
nature, not by adoption" — "Hie etiam iilius Dei natura, uon 
adoptione." Notwithstanding the vigorous measures taken to 
repress and extinguish it, the error again reappeared two cen- 
turies later, when the Church of Spain was languisliing un- 
der the oppressive yoke of the Saracens. Some historians 
have conjectured that this fresh attempt to revive an old error 
by endeavoring to satisfactorily explain the mystery of two 
Natures and one Person in Christ by the lights of reason, was 
prompted by a desire to render the doctrine of the Incarna- 
tion less oflensive to the Mahommedans of Spain. Be this as 
it may, certain it is that the theory was received wath uni- 
versal applause, and found numerous advocates. Among its 
foremost champions were Mipandus, Archbishop of Toledo, a 
man of advanced age, but haughty and passionate ; and Felix, 
Bishop of Urgel, who, though still young, was more moder- 
ate, more prudent, and more learned than the former, and, 
possessing a naturally acute intellect, was a skillful dialecti- 
cian. They both flourished toward the close of the eighth 
century. Elipandus was the first to develop the doctrine. 
He was refuting one lligetius, who, in treating of the Trinity, 
had explained it, in a Sabellian sense, to mean a triple mani- 
festation of the Godhead: first, as the Father in the person 
of David; second, as the Son in the person of Christ, and, 
third, as the Holy Ghost in the person of St. Paul.^ Mige- 
tius made a further distinction between the Word (y^-o-^-oc) and 
the Son of God (mb^ deou), maintaining that the Word became 
the Son of God only in the Incarnation; that He became a 
Person only when He became man ; that the humanity of 
Christ was a condition of His personality in the same sense 
that St. Paul was a condition of the per.sonality of the Holy 
Ghost. Elipandus, in replying to him, declared that the Word 
had been truly and properly the Son of God prior to the time 
when Christ became man, but that Christ as man was called 
the Son of God only in an allegorical or improper sense. 

^Hefele, Hist, of tho Migatians, Tubg. Quart. 1858, p. 86-96. 
VOL 11 — 12 



178 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

Felix, on the other hand, being desirous, while combating 
Mohammedanism, to reconcile, in as far as possible, its teach- 
ings with those of Christianity, went too far, and fell into the 
Nestorian heresy, which partially expressed Mohammed's idea 
of Christ as a prophet of God. Entertaining this view him- 
self, Felix at once approved the theory of Archbishop Eli- 
pandua, who had submitted it to his judgment (a. d. 783). 
Having thns compared and harmonized their views, both 
came forward, openly and boldly proclaiming the doctrine 
" that, as to His divinitij, Christ was by nature and truly the 
Son of God (iilius Dei natura sen genere); but that, as man, 
He was the Son of God in name and by adoption (voluntate, 
beneplacito, gratia, susceptione) ; that, as to His divinity. He 
was truly God, bat that, as to His humanity, He was not, but 
only called so by metonymy, or figure of speech, as men are 
sometimes called the children of God. It is evident, there- 
fore, that the two prelates advocated the JS"estorian theory of a 
complete separation of the two natures in Christ, denied the 
hypostatic union, and, as a consequence, repudiated the mys- 
tery of the Incarnation. 

■ In defense of thoir teaching, they appealed to the writings 
of some of the old Fathers of the Latin Church, such as Hil- 
ary, Marias Mercator, and particularly to Isidore of Seville. 
They also cited some passages from the Mozarabic Liturgy,^ in 
which they maintained the term adoptio was used. It was 
indeed true that such expressions as Christ "adopted man- 
hood" and "adopted flesh" were to be found in the passages 
quoted, but in the active sense, meaning that Christ took 
upon Him our manhood and assumed our iiesh, and not in 
the passive sense, as if the meaning were, Christ was adopted 
as Son. Christus sibi adoptavit carnem seu homiuem; not, 

^ Isidor. Hispal. "(Christus) Unigenitus autom voeatur secundum divinitatis 
exoellentiam, quia sine fratribus; primogcnitus secundum susoeptionem homi- 
nis, in qua per adoptionem gratiae fratros habere dignatus est, de quibus essef 
primogenitus." Etymologg. VII. 2. Of the Mozarabic Liturgy, these passages 
were urged: "Qui per adopUvi hotninis passioneni, dum suo non indulsit ccrpori, 
nostro demum — peperoit. — In missa de ascens. Domini : " Hodie Salvator noster 
TpuT adoptionem carnis sedcm repetit Deitatis." — In missa defunctorum: "Quos 
feeisti adoptionis participes, jubeas haereditatis tuae esse consortes." Conf. Li- 
turgia Mozarab. ed. Alex. Lesle. Eom. 1755. 4. 



§ 173. First Heresies — Adoptionisni. 179 

as the Adoptionists said, Christus secundum hominem a Patre 
adoptatus est. 

In defending his theory, Felix drew his arguments chiefly 
irom those which had heen furnished by ISTestorius. He spoke 
of the Word (/?o;'oc) as dwelling in the humanity of Christ as 
m a temple; said that Christ was a man bearing a Divinity 
within Ilim; that He resembled other men in all things ex- 
cept sin; that he was adopted into Sonship by God in the 
same sense as men loved of God become His children ; that 
the difference between the two cases was one of degree, and 
not of kind; that this solemn act of adoption took place at 
the moment of baptism in the Jordan, when God the Father 
uttered these words : " This is my beloved Son ;" and that, as 
man may be both a natural and an adopted son, so also waa 
Christ by nature the son of David, and by grace or adoption 
the Son of God. 

As Elipandus availed himself of the influence which he 
possessed as archbishop to spread his errors, while he at the 
same time branded the teaching of the Church as heresy, 
there was a twofold reason for taking energetic measures to 
oppose him and refute his doctrine. The first to undertake 
this task were Beatus of Libana, abbot of the monastery of 
Valliscava, and Etherius, Bishop of Osma, both Asturians, 
who, in the year 785, wrote exhaustive treatises in refutation 
of the heresy. They began by appealing to the aulhoriiative 
decisions af the Church concerning the Hypostatic Union of 
the two JSTatures in Christ, and then went on to show that 
Christ, as man, was also truly the Son of God, and that the 
Adoptionists, in separating the two natures, had made two 
Christs instead of one — a thing which necessitated a Quad- 
nnity, instead of a Trinity, in the Deity. 

Pope Hadrian I., hearing of the dangerous nature of the 
heresy, wiote (a. d. 785?) a letter to the orthodox bishops of 
Spain, in which be warns them against the "blasphemy" of 
Elipandus, " which," he goes on to say, " no previous heretics 
have dared to enounce, except Nestorius, who confessed the 
Son of God to be mere man." 

Felix, who, as Bishop of Urgel, a city belonging to the 
Frankish kingdom, was utider the jurisdiction of the metro- 



180 Period 2. JEpoeh 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 



politan see of JSTarboniie, was commanded by Charlemagne to 
appear at the Council of Ratisbon (a. d. 792), to explain and 
defend his doctrine. Felix abjured and anathematized his 
errors before the council, but, being still suspected, lie was 
sent to lionie, under charge of a certain Augilbertus, where 
he made frequent recantations, both in writing and by word 
of mouth, of his former errors, and finally swore, before the 
Blessed Sacrament on St. Peter's tomb, to give them up for- 
ever. Pope Adrian, satisfied with this solemn asseveration of 
his orthodoxy, permitted him to return to his diocese, where, 
coming into contact wnth his former friends, who were still 
Adoptionists, he again fell into his old errors and denounced 
his adversaries. 

Alcuin, who had, in the meantime, returned from England 
and taken up his residence at the Prankish court, wrote, at 
the request of Charlemagne, a formal refutation of Adoption- 
ism (Liber adv. haeresin Pelicis). In the hope of inducing 
Pelix to give up his error, he sent to that prelate a copy of 
his refutation, accompanied with a letter filled with such ex- 
pressions of good-will and kindness as might best soothe the 
pride and win the affection of a ^vounded and humiliated 
spirit. This measure having failed, Charlemagne summoned 
a council to convene at Franhfort (a. d. 794), to consider the 
question. It was very numerously attended, there being 
present, besides the papal legates, three hundred bishops from 
Germany, Gaul, Aquitaine, Britain, and Italy; tiut neither 
Felix nor any one of his party appeared. The fathers took 
up the question relative to the veneration to be paid to pic- 
tures and images, but that which chiefly occupied their atten- 
tion Avas the heresy of the Adoptionists, which they again 
condemned, and reasserted the orthodox doctrine in these 
words : " That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be 
called the Son of God ; not an adopted and strange son, but 
a true and proper" (non adoptivus sed verus ; non alienus sed 
proprius). Pope Hadrian called a synod at Rome, in the same 
year, in which the decree of Frankfort was confirmed. 

After these condemnations, Felix wrote a defense of his 
doctrine in detail, to which Alcuin replied in a work (Adv. 
Felicem, libb. vii.), which justly holds the first place among 



§ 173. First Heresies — Adoptionism. 181 

his writings. At the request of Alcuin, Charlemagne sent 
this work to Pope Adrian, and the Frankish prelates, Paulinus, 
Patriarch of Aquileia, lUchhod, Archbishop of Treves, .and 
Theodidph, Bishop of Orleans, accompanied with a request 
that they would also take part in the controversy, in defense 
of the orthodox faith, and against the errors of Felix. The 
most important of all the writings which this request called 
forth was the treatise of the Patriarch of Aquileia, who, pur- 
suing a line of argumentation similar to that adopted l)y St. 
CyriP against ISTestorius, proved, as Alcuin had already done, 
that the heresy of the Adoptionists was but a revival of Nes- 
iorianism. 

But even these eiforts, though energetic and well directed, 
were far from subduing the pride and overcoming the obsti- 
nacy of Felix and Elipandus. 

Measures were, however, at once taken to check the pro- 
gress of their errors and prevent them from spreading further 
among the faithful. Charlemagne sent Leidrad, Archbishop of 
L3'^ons; Nefrid, Archbishop of ifarbonne, and the ahhot Bene- 
dict of Aniane, to TJrgel, and their labors were so completely 
successful that they succeeded in bringing twenty thousand 
souls, including clergy and lait}^, back to the bosom of the 
Church, and prevailed upon Felix to again submit his cause 
to the judgment of a council lield at Aix-la-Cha])ellc, a. d. 
799. Hei-e Felix sustained a six-days controversy with Al- 
cuin, after which he again acknowledged and retracted his 
error, but was not allowed to return and take charge of his 
diocese. 

In the year 800, the same missionaries were sent a second 
time, by Charlemagne, into the districts infected with the 



''^Alcidn. contra Folic, lib. I., c. 11 : Sicut Nestoriana impictas in duas Christus 
divisit personas propter duas naturas ; — ita ct vestra indoctra temoritas in duos 
cum dividit filios, unum propriuni, alterum adopiivum. Si voro Christus est 
proprius filius Doi Patris et adoptivus : ergo est alter ct alter. And in another 
plaee: Hoc velim ccrtissime vos oognoscere, o viri fratres hujus adoptionis 
in Christo assortores, quod quidquid beatus Cijrillun, Alexandr. ecclcs. pontifex, 
synodali auctoritato impio respondit Nestorio, vobis responsurum esse absque 
dubio sciatis; quia ejusdem erroris impictas ejusdem veritatis responsionibus 
dostrui debet. 



182 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

heresy, and, by their labors and preaching, brought ten thou- 
sand more of those who had gone astray into the Church. 

Elipandus alone held out. Living in that part of Spain 
occupied by the Saracens, he was beyond the reach of either 
the authority of Charlemagne or the efforts of Alcuin. He 
therefore retained possession of his see till his death, which 
occurred a. d. 810. The errors of the Adoptionists perished 
witli their chief representatives. Like every other evil that 
has afflicted the Church, this also effected a measure of good. 
The Franlcish bishops were brought face to face with a 
strictly dogmatical subject, with which they were forced to 
deal in its purely speculative aspects, and this necessitated a 
deep and extensive study of ancient dogmatical literature. 
The writings of Alcuin amjaly prove that this study embraced 
wide scope, and was conscientious and thorough. 

§ 174. Charlemagne. 
« 

I. Codex Carolinus (cont. annales, capitularia, and epp.") '^Jaffe, Monumenta 
Carolina (Bibl. ror. Germ., T. IV.) Ei.nhardi (Charles' Secretary, t844) vita 
Caroli ; Monachiis Sangallensis, de gestis C. M. ; Poeto Saxo, Annal. de gest. Carol. 
{Pertz, T. I. and II.) 

II. StoLberg-Kerz, Vol. 2-5, especially p. 45.5-486. PUllipn, Vol. II., p. 32-87 
and 359 sq. Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, Introd. Original text, Explanar 
tions, and Documents, by Ideler, Hamburg, 1839, 2 vols. '"Sporschil, Charle- 
magne, his Empire and House, Brunswick, 1846; Charlemagne's character 
is given briefly and masterly, in GiesebrecJit' s Hist, of Emperors, 2d od., p. 121- 
143. Alb. Tk!jm, Charlemagne and his Age, revised German ed., Miinster, 1868. 

That Charlemagne played a very important part in the ex- 
ternal organization of the Church, and particularly within the 
limits of the Frauliish Empire, can not be questioned, lie 
had conceived the design of establishing a Germanic or Frank- 
ish Empire on the model of that of ancient Rome, whose un- 
derlying principles of legislation and government should be, 
not national merely, but Christian also. He had caught the 
• idea of founding such an empire as this from that incompara- 
ble work of St. Augustine, the City of God, which constituted 
his favorite reading. This religious tendency was always up- 
permost in the mind of Charlemagne. It is conspicuous iu 
the magnificent disccurse which he delivered at Aix-la-Cha- 



§ 174. Charlemagne. 183 



pelle, in the month of March, a. d. 802 ; it is the one pervad- 
ing idea whicli cliaracterized all his Capitidaj-ies, notably that 
of the year 789\ and introdneed a new element into the legis- 
lation of his empire. In examining the wonderful and com- 
plex structure of this empire, one is struck at every turn with 
its decidedly religious character. The conviction was strong 
upon the mind of Charlemagne, that without religion, legis- 



1 Tho Capitulary is given in Pertz's Monumenta. T. III., p. 53 sq., and in Wal- 
ier's Pontes Juris EccL. p. 40-75. It says, among other things : "Let peace and 
harmony and concord roign throughout Christendom, among bishops and ahliots, 
counts and judges, among men of all conditions and in all places; for without 
peace, it is impossible to please God." This Adinonitio dnmni Caroli imperaiovis 
reads : Audito fratres dileetissimi, pro salute vestra hue missi sumus, ut admo- 
neamus vos, quomodo secundum Dcuni juste et bene vivatis et secundum hoc 
saeculum cum justitia et cum misericordia convertamini. Admoneo vos inpri- 
mis, ut credamus in unum Ueum, omnipotentem Patremet Filium, ct Spiritum 
sanctum. Hie est unus Dcus et vcrus, perfecta Trinitas et vera Unitas, Deus 
creator omnium visibilium ct invisihilium, in quo est salus nostra, et auctor 
omnium bonorum nostrorum. Credito Filium Dei pro salute mundi hominem 

factum. Credite unam ecclesiam, i. e. congregationem bonorum hominum ■ 

per totum orbem terrae ; ct scitote quia isti soli salvi esse poterunt et illi soli ad 
regnum Dei pertinent, qui in istius ecclesiae fide et communione et caritate per- 
severe]it usque in finem; qui vero pro peccatis suis excommunicantur ab ista 
ecclesia et non convcrtuntur ad cam per poenitentiam, non possunt ab saeculo 

aliquid Deo acceptabilo faccrc. Haec est ergo fides nostra, per quam salvi 

critis, si cam firmiter tenetis ct bonis ojDoribus adimpletis, quia fides sine operi- 
bus mortua est et opera sine fide etiamsi bona Deo placere non possunt. 

Primum ergo diUgUe Deiini omnipotentcni ex toto corde et e.x omnibus viri- 

bus vestris. DiligUe proxunos vesiros sicut vos ipsos et eleemosj'nas facite 

pauperibus secundum vires vestras. Peregrines suscipite in domes vcstras, 

infirmos visitate, in cos, qui in carceribus sunt, miserieordiam praebete. 

Dimittite vobis invicem dolicta vestra, sicut vultis, quod vobis Deus dimittat 
peccata vestra, Eedimite captives, adjuvate injusto oppresses, defendite viduas 
Ot orphanos; juste judicate, in iniqua non consentite, iram longam non teneatis, 

cbrietates et commossationes superfluas fiigite. Eeconciliato citius ac pacem 

inter vos, quia humanum est peccare, angclicum emendare, diabolieum est per- 
severare in peccato. Ecclesiam Dei defendite et causam ejus adjuvate, ut possint 
orare sacerdotes Dei. Quod Deo promisistis in baptismo recordamini ; abrenun- 
ciastis diabolo et operibus ejus. 

Unusquisque in eo ordine Deo serviat fldeliter, in quo ille est. Mulieres sint 
subjectae viris suis in omni bonitate et pudicitia, custodiant se a fornieatione et 
venofieiis et avaritiis, quoniam qui haec faciunt, Deo repugnant. Nutriant Alios 
BUGS in- Dei timore ot faciant eleemosynas ex tantum quantum habent hilarcm 
mentem et bonam voluntatom. Vlrl diligant uxores suas et inhonesta verba 
non dicant eis; gubernent domos suas; in bonitate eonveniant ad ecclesiam 
frequontius. Eeddant hominibus, quae debent sine murmuratione et Deo, quae 



184 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

lation would be destitute of any adequate sanction, and pos- 
sessed of neither authority nor true influence. This is also 
plain from the fact that the Emperor, while engaged in carry- 
ing on war in distant countries, never relaxed his energy in 
establishing religious houses at home; and from the further 
fact, that he took great pleasure in listening to the homilies 
of the Fathers of the Church,^ which he had read while taking 
his meals ; and manifested a lively interest in discussions on 
theological questions, as in the controversy relative to Adop- 
tionism and Images. "Would to God," he was wont to say, 
"that I possessed twelve men such as St. Augustine." To 
which Alcuin would promptly reply : " The Creator of heaven 
and earth was content with one." 

The enlightened love entertained by Charlemagne for scien- 
tific studies ; the zeal displayed by him in attracting to his 
court learned men from every nation, and in establisJiing 

Dei sunt cum bona voluntate. Filu diligaiit parentes suos et honorent illos. 
Non sint illis iuobedientcs, caveant se a furtis et homicidiis et fornicationibus; 
quando ad legitimam aetatem veniunt, legitimam ducant uxorem, nisiforte iUis 
plus placeat in Dei servitium intraro. Clerici canonic i episcoporum suorumdili- 
gentcr obediant mandatis ; gyri non sint de loco ad locum. ISTegotiis saeculari- 
bus se non implicent. In castitate permaneant, lectioni sanctax'um scripturai'um 
frequenter amorc Dei intendant, ecolesiastica diligenter exerceant. Monachl, 
quod Deo promiserunt, custodiant, nihil extra abbatis sui praeceptum faoiant, 
turpe ludrum non faciant. Eegulam memoriter teneant et firmiter custodiant, 
soientes praeceptum, quod multis melius votuni non vovere, quam post votum 
non roddere. Duces, coiniles aijudlces justitiam faciant populis, misericordiam 
in pauperes, pro pecunia non mutent aoquitatem, per odia non damnent inno- 
centes. ilia apostolica semper in corde teneantur, quae ajunt ; Omnes nos stare 
oportet ante tribvnal Christi, ut recipiat unusquisque prout gessit, sive bonum, 
sive malum. Quod Dominus ipse ait : In quo judicio judicabitis, judicabitur de 
vobis, i. e. misericorditer agite, ut misericordiam rccipiatis a Deo. Nihil occul- 
turn, quod non sciatur, ncque opertum, quod non revcleiur; ctpro omni ottoso verba 
rcddimufs rationem in diejudicit. Quanto magis faoiamus omnes cum adjutorio, 
ut cum Deo placere possimus in omnibus operibus nostris et post banc vitam 
praosentem gaudere mereamus cum Sanctis Dei in aeternum. 

Brovis est ista vita et incertum est tempus mortis ; quid aliud agendum est, 
nisi ut semper parati simus? Cogitemus, quam terribile est ineidere in manum 
Dei. Cum confessione et poenitentia et cleemosynis misericors est Dominus et 
Clemens; si viderit iios ex toto oordo ad se convortere, statim miserebitur nos- 
tri. — • — (Pcriz, T. Ill,, p. 101-103.) The very incorrect wording and construc- 
tion have been corrected. 

'Inter ooenandum, say.i Ecjinhard, deleotabatur et libris St. Augustini, prae- 
cipue his, qui de civitate Dei praetitulati sunt. 



§ 174. Charlemagne. 185 

schools and institutions of learning as a means of civilizing 
his subjects ; and his solicitude that whatever he did should 
be based upon thoroughly religious piincijoles, prove that he 
was intellectually far in advance of his age, and not unworthy 
of the high mission to which he was called. The esteem in 
which Charlemagne held everything connected with religion, 
and the recognition of its necessity in the fonc'ions of gov- 
ernment, will aftbrd a sufficient explanation of his reverence 
for the Head of the Church, and of the enthusiasm with which 
the subjects of his vast empire hailed the news of his coro- 
nation as Emperor of the Romans, and of the alacrity they man- 
ifested in yielding obedience to his authority. But, while 
recognizing the necessity of a close intercourse between 
Church and State, and of their need of each other's support, 
and while careful not to encroach upon the rights of the 
former,^ he was by no means blind to the importance of rigor- 
ously defining the respective limits of the authority of both? 

An ecclesiastical sanction had already added fresh luster to 
the imperial dignity; but in order to still further strengthen 
the authority and consolidate the power of the State, the 
Emperor appointed imperial commissioners or deputies (missi 
dominici), whose office and functions have been described 
above. The court consisting of these commissioners also 
protected the personal liberty of the subjects, so frequently 
hazarded in the Frankish Empire by the concentration in the 
hands of one person of both the judicial and executive au- 
thority. 

While the dukes and counts still retained and exercised the 
executive authority and power, the legislative branch was 
given into the hands of tlje Court of Imperial Commissions 
(missio dominica), consisting of persons selected by the Em- 

^Soo p. 160. 

' Conf. capitul. I. Interrogandi sunt, in quibua rebus vel locis ecolesiastici 
laicis aut laici ecclesiasticis ministerium suum impediant. In hoc loco discuti- 
endum est atque interveniendum, in quantum so episcopus aut abbas rebus 
saeeularibus debeat inserere, vel in quantum comes vel alter laicus in ccclesi- 
astica nogotia. Hie interrogandum est acutissime, quid sit quod Apostolus ait: 
Nemo militans Deo implicat se negotiis saecularibus (2 Tim. ii. 4) vel ad quoa 
Bermo iste pertineat. (Baluz., T. I., p. 328.) Cf. tX>r. Braun, Carolo M. reg- 
nanto quae inter ecclesiam et imperium ratio interoesserit, Priburgi, 18G3. 



186 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4l. 

peror himself, and distinguished by intellectual strength, su- 
perior cultivation, tact, and perseverance in investigating 
facts, skill and judicial temper in deciding upon their merits 
and bearing, and by all those qualifications which specially 
fit men to be dispensers of justice. " The good and gracious 
Emperor, solicitous for the welfare of the poor, the Avidows, 
and the orphans of his Empire,^ desired to provide for them 
and for the entire people, without cost or trouble, a tribunal 
at which they might at all times obtain the justice which had 
hitherto been denied them." 

The inaugural address delivered by Charlemagne at Aix- 
la-Chapelle, in the year 802, breathes the same religious 
spirit as pervades that delivered at the diet held in the same 
city in the year 813, when he bestowed the crown and other 
emblems of royalty ujson his son, Louis the Mild, "with," as 
he expressed it, " Christ's consent." And, pitching his voice in 
a higher key, he exhorted the prince before all things to love 
and honor God ; to keep His commandments ; to protect the 
Church ; to love her bishops as his own children ; to show 
kindness to the princes of his own blood ; to regard his sub- 
jects with the same parental feeling that he would his own 
oiTspring; to provide for the poor; to raise to oflice and posi- 
tions of trust only such as were distinguished by integrity 
and holiness of life ; to chastise oft'enders with a view to draw 
them from their evil ways and insure their eternal welfare; 
and to be the protector of the religious and the comforter of 
the poor. The prince, upon being asked by his venerable 
father if he were prepared to comply with these injunctions, 
answered that, "with the help of God's grace," he would. 

The untiring energy displayed by Charlemagne, and felt in 
every corner of his wide empire, laid the foundation of all 
that is noble and beautiful and useful in the history of the 
Middle Ages. For centuries after he had passed away, his 
memory was cherished by a loving and grateful people, who 
pointed with pride to their magnificent institutions as the 

1 Such are the dispositions of the emperor at the Synod of Ais-la-Chapelle, in 
802. [HarrJicim, T. I., p. 365. "| Conf. "Charlemagne's laws and legislation for 
widows and orphans, the poor and travelers" (Hist. Polit. Papers, hy Phillips 
and Gorres, Vol. I., p. 406-413. 



§ 174. Charlemagne. 187 



heritage of the illustrious founder of the Germanic Empire.' 
But, amid all this {greatness and g\oYj, the mind of Charle- 
magne was not exempt from sad forebodings of the future. 
Evidences of the coming storm were already above the hori- 
zon of Europe. Standing upon the battlements of one of the 
strongholds on the shores of the North Sea, and gazing away 
into the distance, where the sails of the piratical vessels of 
the Northmen were disappearing from view, his features as- 
sumed an expression of sadness and his ej'es filled with tears. 
Upon being asked the cause of this unusual depression, he 
replied: "Alas! if these men are so audaciously aggressive 
in my own lifetime, what will not my people have to suffer 
when I am no more !" 

It were well for the memory of Charlemagne if there were 
fewer blemishes upon his domestic life. Then, too, would the 
prayer which this brave warrior was accustomed to pour 
forth from the fullness of his heart, in the silence of tiio 
night, have ascended purer and pleaded with more eflicacy at 
Throne of Grace. But, notwithstanding these ineffaceable 
spots upon his character, Pascal the Autipope, during the 
time of Alexander III., acting on the suggestion of Frederic 
Barharossa, placed him on the calendar of the saints. Though 
succeeding pontiffs neglected to cancel his name, his many 
derelictions of conjugal fidelity and the scandal Avhich nec- 
essarily attached to him because of his having had three 
natural sons, viz., Drogo, Theoderic, and Hugh, called from 
many persons the most emphatic protests against such action. 
Hence his name has never been entered upon cither the Eo- 
man or the Benedictine calendar, notwithstanding that the 
Benedictine order was the especial object of his favor and 
bounty.^ All, however, have concurred in conferring upon 
him the title of ^"^ Great;" nor would it be possible to deny it 
to him, when we take into account all the institutions which 
he called into existence for the promotion of science, art, and 



' Coiif. Caniii, Universal History, German by BrUld, Vol. V., Preface, p. Ixiv. 

2 The Congr. of Eitos lately, under Pi as IX., limited the celebration of hia 
Anniversary to the city of Ai.x-la-Chapelle. The Officium do St. Carolo in Cani- 
stus-Basnarje lectt. antiq., T. III., Pt. II., p. 205 sq. Conf. Walch, Historia canoni- 
sationis Caroli M., Jonae, 1750. Moser, Hist, of Osnabriick, Pt. I., p. S20. 



188 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 4. 

good government, and compared the condition of the Frank- 
ish Empire, at the time of his accessioji, with the prosperity 
and glory whicli it reached at the close of his life. 

He died January 28, a. d. 814, in the imperial palace at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, in the seventy-s'^cond year of his age and 
forty-sixth of his reign, and was buried in the cathedral 
which he had himself built. 

Seated upon a throne of gold, with head erect, bearing a 
sword at his side, his loins girt about with the cord of a pil- 
grim, and holding in his hand the Book of Gospels, Charle- 
magne seems still, in death, the presiding genius of his 
people and the inspirer of those great conceptions which he 
realized in his own life. 

Paulus Diaconus, the son of Warnefried, inspired by mo- 
tives of love and gratitude, said truly of him : " One knows 
not which to admire more in this great man — his bravery in 
war or his wisdom in peace, the glory of his military achieve- 
ments or the splendor of his triumphs in the liberal arts." 



CHAPTER V. 

THE GKEEK CHURCH. 

§ 175. General View. 

Conf. Fred, von Schler/el, Philosophy of Hist., Vol. II., pp. C9-91. 

The Church had barely succeeded in arresting the tide of 
bai'baric invasion by creating and organizing the Holy Koman 
Germanic Empire, when she was again threatened by the 
warlike fanaticism of Islamism. The violence and persecut- 
ing spirit of the ancient Romans seemed again revived, 
not now, as then, sustained and directed by prudent counsels 
and the dictates of cool reason, which distinguished every 
measure of that kingly people, but roused into action, and 
fanned into a glowing flame by the wild excesses of an over- 
heated Oriental imagination. The powers of Darkness, which 
had been brought under control by Christianity, again broke 
forth fresh against the Church, and cheeked the progress of 
her pacific pursuits. 

Islamism, instead of drawing a sharp line of distinction 
between the external polity of the Church and that of the 
State, and uniting the two internally by strong and intimate 
bonds, adopted a less intelligent, if more summary, mode of 
proceeding, by forcing the two into a sort of mechanical 
union. Mohammed totally ignored the traditionary and his- 
torical union which Christianity had effected between Church 
and State, and, in the recklessness of blind rage and ignorant 
stupidity, snapped this connecting link betweeo the ancient 
world of Paganism and the degenerated world of Christian- 
ity. The new commandment which he gave to the worhl 
was vengeance; the new purpose of life, the iudulgence of the 
carnal appetites ; and pride the new motive of action. His 
teaching inculcated the most brutal despotism, and what he 
advocated in theory he carried out in practice. 

(189) 



190 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 5. 

Was it possible that the invasion of these Arabs, a people so 
widely clifFerent in origin and character from the Germans, 
and professing a religion so antagonistic to Christianity, 
could have the effect of restoring fresh life, youthful vigor, 
and full manhood to the people of the ancient world ? Islara- 
ism migljt, indeed, in virtue of some elements of good which 
it possessed, have curbed the wild excesses of these rude and 
savage liordos, and imparted to them a certain degree of civ- 
ilization, but it could have done no more. The enervating 
sensuality which was its essential element and characteristic, 
would inevitablj' have bred future troubles aud sown the 
seeds of moral decay. 

If there was ever a time in the history of the Chui'ch when 
she shouhl have been prompt in decision, energetic in action, 
and prepared to tiirn to practical account all lier strength and 
power, it was now, when she was brought face to face in 
deadly conflict with the blind fury of Islamism. These qual- 
ities have ever been characteristic of the Church in her su- 
preme hour, nor was she wanting in them now. But, though 
this be said of the Church as identical with Christianity, it 
is far from true as relates to the Eastern Church, which, at 
the time of which Ave are speaking, Avas totally destitute of 
these qualities, torn with distraction audi, rent into yiumerous 
sects. Weakened and exhausted by internal disorders, she 
gradually fell a victim to vain speculations, idle questions, 
petty disputes, futile and refined theories. It was not long 
before all religious life, in any true sense, almost entirely 
died out amid this seeming intellectual activity. If anything 
more was necessary to Avholly extinguish it, this soon came 
in the shape oi^ religious tyranny and imperial dogmatism and 
assumption. The emperors, by arbitrarily nominating to epis- 
copal sees men whose chief title to merit was their readiness 
to comply with the imperial pleasure, excluded others who 
would have made worthy and enlightened pastors. This pol- 
icy of excluding men of character and ability from the high- 
est and most responsible offices in the Church, and admitting 
others Avho possessed neither, opened a wide door to the 
enemy of the Christian name. Accordingly, the Eastern 
Church, thus enfeebled and rapidly going to decay, though 



§ 176. Mohamyned — His Doctrine — Its Bajnd Progress. 191 

she still bore upon her the tokens of life, was incapable of 
opposing either moral authority or material strength to the 
encroachments of Mohammedanism, then in the full vigor of 
youth, drunk with the blood of conquest, and ready to en- 
force its claims with great and victorious armies. 

§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Rapid Progress. 

Aloorani textus universus, aratice et latine, ed. Marraciuf!. Patav. 1G98 fol., 
Lips. 1834. German by i3o2/seK, Halle, 1773; by irc/ii, Halle, 1828; by Ullmann, 
Crofeld, 1841. — Abulfeda (saec. XIV.), annales Muslemici, arabice et latine, ed. 
Reiske. Havn. 1780 sq., 5 T. 4to.; cjusdem, historia anteislamica, arab. et lat., ed. 
Fleischer, Lps. 1831 ; the vita Motiammedis, arab. et lat., ed. GagnUr., Oxon. 1723, 
fol. Tr. Adds.: — Eds. of the Koran, by Fliiyel, 1834, and Redslob, 1837. Engl, 
transl. by &/e, 1734; J. M. Bodwell, London, 1861. French transl. by /fasimirsAi, 
Paris, 1840. 

Gagnter, la vie de Mahom., Amst. 1732, 2 T. ''Dollinger, The Muhammedan 
Eeligion, Its Interior Development and Influence on the lives of Nations, Ea- 
tisb. 1838. Well, Muhammed the Prophet, his Life and his Doctrine, Stuttg. 
1843. By the same, Hist, of the Ismaelian Nations, given in a Synopsis, 186G. 
Sprenger, The Life and Doctrine of Muhammed, Berlin, 1861 sq., 3 vols. Kre- 
mer, Hist of the leading Ideas of Islamism, Lps. 1868. "-Noldeke, ^' MuJiammed" 
in Herzog's Encyclopaedia, Vol. XVIIL, p. 767 sq. 

At the opening of the seventh century, no country of the 
world piresented more striking features and extraordinary 
contrasts than Arabia, whether in regard to its soil, its cli- 
mate, or the civilization of its. inhabitants. 

The Ichthyophagi, or Fish-eaters, who dwelt upon the shores 
of the Persian Gulf, were, of all the classes composing its 
motley population, the most ignorant and degraded; next, 
but a degree higher, came the Beduins, who, possessing a 
warm imagination and lively temperament, led a pleasant 
and happy life, tending their flocks in the interior of the 
country; finally, the inhabitants of the cities, who formed a 
third class, were highly cultivated, of agreeable manners and 
pleasing address. 

Owing to the geographical isolation of Arabia, it afforded 
an easy and secure retreat to such as were threatened with 
persecution in Asia; and thither, from the earliest times, 
men holding every shade of opinion and professing every 
sort of religious belief had sought and foufid an asylum, and 
-now composed the heterogeneous mass of its inhabitants. 

But this people, so various in origin, so seemingly antago- 



192 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

uistic in religious profession, and so widely separated, both 
by education and calling, possessed in common one central 
place of worship, viz., the Kaaba, or Holy House of Mecca. 
Within this sanctuary was a great shapeless black stone of 
the highest antiquity, to which divine honors were paid. A 
tradition existed, according to which this stone had been first 
placed there by Abraham, and was intended to symbolize the 
One God ; and that, having been once displaced, it was again 
restored by the Amalekites. By and by it came to be sur- 
rounded with numerous idols, said to be three hundred and 
sixty in number; and to the Holy House, sanctified in their 
minds by the presence of so many gods, the Arabs went an- 
nually, in great troops, on pilgrimages. Sabeism was indeed 
the most prominent feature of this superstitious and idola- 
trous worship; but, notwithstanding the absurdity and gro- 
tesqueness of the various forms which religious belief as- 
sumed throughout all Arabia, the primitive idea of one God 
and one religion was never entirely lost sight of.' The large 
communities of Jews settled in every part of the peninsula, 
and a considerable number of Christians of the humbler and 
illiterate class preserved it where it had not been lost, and re- 
vived it where it had. 

It was such influences as these that induced Mohammed (from 
hammada, meaning "one to be praised," or the "desired," 
his real name being Abul Kasem Ibn Abdallah) to reject the 
worship of idols and return to the primitive religion of mon- 
otheism. But the sensual element so characteristic of his 
race was predominant in Mohammed's new system, was 
always a prolific source of trouble, and eventually effected 
its ruin. 

Mohammed, who was the only son of Abdallah, a Pagan,, 
and Amina, a Jewess, and was descended from the noble but 
impoverished family of Hashim, of the priestly tribe of Kore- 

■ The prayer addressed by the ancient Arabs to Allah Taala, the Most High 
God, ran as follows : Cultul tuo mo dodo, o Deus, cultui tuo me dedo. Non est 
tibi socius, nisi sooius, quern tu possides, et una, quidquid ille possidet. Even 
the known symbolum, "There is no God but the one God," was in use among 
the Arabians when Mohammed rose up as its herald. See Dollinger, Ch. H., 
p. 250 ; V. Malizan, Pilgrimage to Mecca. 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Sapid Progress. 193 

ish, who were the chiefs and keepers of the national sanctuary 
of the Kaaba, and pretended to trace their origin to Isma'el, 
the son of Abraham and Hagar, was born at Mecca, August 20, 
A. D. 570. His father died two months before his birth, and 
his mother when he was six years of age. He then passed 
under the care of his grandfather, who died two years later, 
when his uncle, Abu-Talib, who, though poor and having a 
large family, took charge of him and treated him with much 
kindness. While a boy, he earned his living as a shepherd ; 
but little is known, with certainty, of his early life. Grave 
in his exterior deportment, of imposing address and agree- 
able manners, he was entirely destitute of the early training 
and literary accomplishments so necessary to soften the nat- 
ural asperities of his character and check the impetuosity of 
his temper. According to his own admission, he could neither 
read nor ivriie. 

Though naturally inclined to a contemplative life, he was 
forced, in consequence of his poverty, to have recourse to 
commerce for a livelihood. In the course of his commercial 
travels, he spent some time in a ISTestorian monastery at 
Bozrah — a circumstance which, while increasing his love of 
contemplation, failed to produce upon his mind a favorable 
impression of Christianity.' "When, in the twenty-iifth year 
of his age, he married a wealthy Meccan widow, Khadijali 
by name, then in .her thirty-eighth year, who had intrusted 
to him the care of her Syrian trade and was pleased with his 
capacity for business, and perhaps still more with, his hand- 
some person and courtly address. 

Mohammed had, from his earliest years, manifested a de- 
cided inclination for solitude, and it was his custom to put 
aside mercantile affairs and withdraw to a cave in a moun- 
tain near Mecca, where he would shut himself up, for a 
month together, every year. When in the fortieth year of 
his age (a. d. 610), he pretended to have had visions. He said 
that, while sleeping in a cave in Mount liira, the Angel Ga- 

' According to the account of Paulus Diaconus, Zonaras (twelfth century), 
and other historians. 

VOL. II — 13 



194 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

briel appeared to hiin, and, calling him tPirice, bade him 
"cry." This was his first revelation, after which he fancied 
himself possessed of devils, and would have put an end to 
his life bad be not received a second revelation, iu which he 
was bidden to "arise and preach." These pretended visions 
were continued till the end of his life. He at first communi- 
'cated them only to Khadijab, bis wife ; Ali, bis cousin ; 
Zeid, bis freedman and adopted son; Abu-Bekr, his attached 
friend and prudent counselor; Othman, who, as well as Abu- 
Bekr, afterward became Caliph, and a few others. After 
having passed a long retreat in the cave of Mount Hira, he 
appeared as a public teacher, in the year 611, declaring that 
"tke7'e is but one God, and Mohammed is Hi's prophet." Having 
been, in early life, subject to epileptic fits, be at first regarded 
these visions as the work of evil spirits; but, having been re- 
assured by the repetition of them, and encouraged by his 
friends, be finally brought himself to believe, or to affect to 
believe, that they were divine messages, communicated to 
him through the agency of the archangel Gabriel. In the 
pretended revelations which took place at a later period of 
his life, it is not difficult to discover that he was at times both 
deceiving himself and consciously deceiving others. 

It is not at all improbable, that, from the very beginning 
of bis career, be entertained the vain hope that the Jews 
would eventually recognize him as the long looked-for Mes- 
siah, and the Christian sects of Arabia as the promised Para- 
clete. But when the youthful Ali, his cousin, speaking in his 
defense, declared that he would break the teeth, pluck out the 
eyes, rip open the bodies, and cut off the legs of such as 
would dare oppose the Prophet of God, the people of Mo- 
hammed's own tribe of Koreish rose up in indignation as^ainst 
him, and threatened to take bis life. Eejected and persecuted 
by the Koreishites, he fled from Mecca, July 15, a. d. 622, and, 
after a three-day's journey, reached the city of Hatshreb, or 
Yathrib, aftprward called Medina, an abbreviation for Medinat- 
al-Nabi, or the City of the Prophet. This event is called the 
Hegira (Iledshra), or Flight, and marks an epoch in the life 
of Mohammed. Henceforth, Islam and its founder will take 
their place in the history of the world. 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Rapid Progress. 195 

He was received by the inhabitants of Medina with every 
demonstration of respect, and was conducted into the city in 
triumph. He had, up to this time, led a comparatively ob- 
scure life, but he was now to come forth as the prophet and 
founder of a new political and religious system, destined to 
make a hitherto insignificant people play a most important 
part in the history of the world. He at once commenced a 
war against the Koreishites, which, at first, consisted of pred- 
atory attacks upon caravans, but soon assumed the dimensions 
and acquired the importance of a great and organized sti'ug- 
gle. After many successes and some reverses, be finally 
marched on Mecca (a. d. 630), and encountered but shght 
opposition before getting possession of the place. The 
Prophet, entering the city, went directly to the Kaaba, and 
saying, " Truth is come, let lies depart," ordered all the idols 
to be broken before his eyes. Having thus purified the na- 
tional sanctuary, hallowed by the presence and memory of 
Abraham and Ismael, of all abominations, he made it the 
chief temple of the new worship. 

The religious belief^ of Mohammed, which he professed to 

1 The ICordn and the Sonna are the authoritative sources of Doctrine. 

The Koran consists of the revelations which Mohammed professed to receive 
from time to time, either directly from God or through the Angel Gabriel. The 
name Kordn (lit. "that which is read," or "that which ought to be read,") is 
applied both to the whole wort and to any part of it. It has manj' other titles 
with the Mohammedans: Al Porkan, "Liberation," "Deliverance," hence "Illu- 
mination," "Kevelation;" Al Moshaf, "The Volume;" Al Kitab, "The Book;" 
Al Dhikr, "The Admonition." It is divided in 114 chapters ("Suras," "row-s, 
primarily of bricks in a wall," thence "a line" of writing). Each chapter is 
divided into verses (Ayat, "signs," "wonders"), which vary slightly in different 
editions. Both suras and verses are of very different lengths, the suras having 
from three to two hundred and eighty-six verses, the verses being from one to 
nearly twenty lines. Each sura has its title, taken either from some subject 
treated or some person mentioned in it, or from some important word, often in 
the middle or near the end of the sura. Some suras have two titles; some 
verses have also titles of their own. Next to the title comes the mention of 
the place whore, according to tradition, the sura was revealed — Mecca, Medina, 
or partly at Mecca, partly at Medina. To every sura but the ninth is prefixed 
thu form of blessing, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." 
This blessing is called "Bismillah," from the first w.ord in the Arabic. It is 
used at the beginning of all books and public documents, before meals and 
other actions, and is constantly on the lips of Mohammedans. . . . 

The Koran is composed absolutely without any arrangement or system what- 



196 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

have received from time to time, either directly froo: God or 
through the Augel Gabriel, and which, after his death, had 
been collected from the palm-leaves, bits of leather, stones, 
mutton-bones, and other materials on which the several reve- 
lations had been written, and arranged into one book, known 
as the Kor&n^ is little more than an incongruous mixture of 
Parseeism, Judaism.; and Christianity. 

Mohammed's knowledge of the two last does not appear to 
have been derived from the Old and ISTew Testaments, but 
rather from apocryphal Jewish and Christian legends.^ It was 



soever. It has neither beginning, middle, nor end; it is a gathering of irregu- 
lar scraps, indiscriminately put together. ... 

Three stages may be recognized in the composition of the Koran: 1. The 
period of early struggles, marked by a higher poetical spirit, an appreciation 
of the beauties of nature, more intense feeling and earnestness. 2. The period 
of controversy and the formation of doctrine, showing a more prosaic and 
didactic style, -with frequent repetitions of histories and legends. 3. Period of 
power, of legislation, moral and ecclesiastical, indicated by a more dogmatic 
and commanding tone, and comparative freedom from histories and legends. 

The Sonna (lit. "custom"). The second authoritative source of doctrine is 
an amplification and explanation of the Koran. It consists of the sayings and 
doings of the Prophet, as handed down by tradition, put into writing, at the 
earliest, at the end of the first century after the Hegira. The original purpose 
of the collectors of traditions was to supply materials for the decision of ques- 
tions of doctrine, morals, law, and even of habits and customs when the Koran 
is silent. The Sonna, therefore, chiefly deals with matters of practice. . . . 

The traditions are all cast in the same form. They are seldom more than ten 
lines long. Each relates usually only to one fact, in the same style, and in the 
form of a dialogue. At the head of each is put the chain of witnesses (Isnad), 
on whose authority the tradition rests, beginning with the writer, and going up 
to some companion of the Prophet. This is of great importance, and is, with 
the Mohammedans, a test of the "soundness" of a tradition. They are on all 
possible subjects. (Blunts Sects and Heresies, art. Mohammedans. — Tk.) 

iThe Koran is composed of 114 Suras (capita), each of which opens with the 
words, written in cyphers; "Be smilahi raehmani rachimi, i. e. In the name 
of the All-merciful, of the All-bountiful." Every Sura (tradition) is again 
divided into Ayats, or verses. As to the subject-matter, the doctrine of the 
Koran, or the Islam (from salama, to be safe; fourth conjug., to devote one's 
self to God), is divided into the Iina7i (doctrine ot faith) and Din (ju.'-tico, or 
moral doctrine). Of the expounders of the Koran, the orthodox party are 
called Sunnites (traditionalists); the heterodox are caMe<\. Shiites. Conf. Well, 
Hist. Crit. Intr. to the Koran, Bielefeld, 1844. (Te.) 

"^Holder, On the relation in which, according to the Koran, Christ stands to 
Muhammed, and the Gospel to the Islam {complete worlcs, Vol. I., p. 318-402); 
Qeiger, What has Muhammed plagiarized from Judaism, Bonn, 1833. '\Maier, 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Rapid Progress. 197 

said, even by the contemporaries of Mohammed, that Abdal- 
lah Ebn Salam, a Jeio; Salam, a convert from Parseeism to 
Christianity, and Sergius, a ISTestorian monk, had aided him 
in compiling his religious system. Such were the heteroge- 
neous constituents of Islam (Submission to God) — a simple, 
but incomplete system, the one essential element of which is 
hatred and execration of every other religion. 

The followers of Islam and descendants of Abraham, like 
their forefather, adored but one God, and in this they were 
equally opposed to both the Polytheism of the Pagans and 
the Trinitarian dogma of the Christians. Their faith as re- 
gards God was embodied in the motto of the Koran : " la 
illah ill 'Allah" — i. e. "-there is no God beside God.'' As God 
has no Son, there can be no Incarnation, and, as the name in- 
dicates,' Mohammed is His promised Paraclete. Abraham, 
Moyses, and Christ were sent by God to announce an imper- 
fect and partial Divine revelation, the completion and perfec- 
tion (chocraa) of which was reserved to Mohammed. The 
chief of the attributes ascribed to God, and insisted upon 
with special emphasis as those most frequently called into 
exercise, are omnipoteJice, omniscience, and, above all, mercy. 
Hence, every public document commenced with the woi'ds, 
"In the name of the All-merciful." 

Angels, created before man, and consisting of an ethereal 
fire or light, hover about the throne of God, and never weary 
of serving and praising Him. The four most important angels 
are Gabriel, the angel of revelation, declared to be identical 
with the Holy Ghost; Michael, the protector of youth and 
friend of the Jews ; Azrael, the angel of death ; and Izrafil, 
who shall sound the trumpet on the day of judgment. The 
Koran speaks also of an angel guardian, and of another, once 
culled Azazil, but who, refusing to comply with God's com- 
mand and worship Adam at his creation, was cursed for his 
pride, fell from his high estate, and became Eblis, or Satan. 

Christian Elements of the Koran (Preibg. Journal of Theology, Vol. II., p. 
34-97). Conf Orosse, Essay of a Christology of the Koran, Gotha, 1840. 

' This pretension is without foundation, because " Mohammed," though synony- 
mous with irtfUiilvrdQ, far-famed, is not with 7rapdicA!?rof. 



198 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

He has no power over believers, but is constantly engaged in 
seducing others. 

God created man out of dust to be His representative on 
earth. Some He made white, some black, and others of a 
color resulting from a mixture of the two. His soul is part 
of the Divine Being, and his body God commanded to be cir- 
cumcised, like that of Ismael, the patriarch of the Arabs, in 
the thirteenth year after birth. He is subject by irreversible 
decree to a Divine and irrevocable law, according to which 
his actions and his destiny are foreordained and predeter- 
mined. 

Islam repudiates redemption, justification, grace and its 
influence as a means of salvation. But in all that regai-ds 
eschatology, or the end of man and his condition after death, 
it is especially full, depicting in glowing words and endless 
variety of expression the grossly sensual pleasures of Para- 
dise, and giving, by way of contrast, a frightful account of the 
tortures of Hell. On the Last Day, the bodies shall me from 
their resting-place, and all men go to judgment. After judg- 
ment, all men will pass over the bridge Al-Sirat, which ex- 
tends over themidst of hell, is finer than a hair, sharper than 
a sword's edge, and beset on both sides by briars and thorns. 
The good will pass, with Mohammed and the prophets, in 
safety into paradise ; the wicked will fall into hell, where 
they will endure tortures of fire and other punishments. 
Their bodies will be ever fresh for the fiame ; for their flesh, 
though constantly consumed, will be constantly renewed. 

Paradise is a place flowing with milk and honey, and 
abounding in every delight for the enjoyment of the good. 
They will feast on the most delicious meats, and drink water 
which never becomes impure ; each shall enjoy the society 
of his own wives and of the charming and incontaminable 
black- eyed houries, or girls of paradise. 

The Koran is filled with protests against the Christian dog- 
mas of the Dimriity of Christ and the Trinity, and against the 
ceneraiion oi images. Speaking of the divinity of Christ, Mo- 
hammed says : " There is no cause for marvel if, in the pro- 
mulgation of such a doctrine, the heavens opened, the earth 
was rent, and the mountains fell in." "If," said he, -'yoa 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Eapid Progress. 199 

aiBrm that God has a Son, you must also admit that He has a 
wife." Mohammed arrived at this conclusion in the follow- 
ing way : The Arabs believed all angels to be females, and 
Mohammed held that the angel Gabriel, being the supreme 
angel, was identical with the Holy Ghost. He therefore con- 
cluded that the Christians had raised this angel to the dignity 
of wife of God, and that he was consequently a female Divin- 
it3\ This being once established, there was no difficulty in 
allowing that a third Divinity, or Jesus, was the fruit of this 
union. And in matter of fact, there is an apocryphal writing, 
in which Jesus is represented as addressing the Jloly Ghost as 
His mother. 

With regai-d to morality, the Koran may be said to concern 
itself only about external practices, paying little, if any, atten- 
tion to the purity of interior motives, or to the conditions of true 
sanctifcation. The principal branches of practice are three — 
prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. 

I. Prayer. In praying, the worshiper turns toward Mecca, 
where the Kaaba is situated, this being the du-ection which 
leads along the way to God. Prayer is ordered to be made 
five times daily: 1. Before sunrise; 2. Just afternoon, when 
the sun begins to decline; 3. Midway between noon and night- 
fall ; 4. A little after sunset ; and 5. When the evening has just 
set in. The times of prayer are proclaimed by Muezzins from 
the minarets of the mosque, in a sort of chant. This relig- 
ious service consists of inclinations, frequent ejaculations of 
the form, " God is great," and prayers and recitations taken 
from the Koran. Public worship takes place in the mosque 
every Friday at noon. This day is called "the day of assem- 
bly," and the service is the same as that of private devotions, 
with the addition of a sermon. Women are not admitted 
into the mosque, or allowed to attend public service, except 
on festivals. 

H. Fasting is a means of gaining heaven, and is both 
obligatory and optional. The obligatory fast takes place 
yearly, during the month of Ramadhan, because the Koran 
was given in that month. It commences with the new moon 
and continues to the next new moon. The Moslem is bidden 
to fast every day, from the time it is light enough to distin- 



200 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

guish between a black and white thread until sunset, from 
eating and drinking, from smoking and perfume, and from 
all sensual indulgence. Of the optional fasts, the most im- 
portant is that of the Ashura, the tenth day of Moharram, 
or the first month. It was instituted and made obligatory 
by Mohammed, shortly after the Hegira, when he was trying 
tc win over the Jews, but was afterward left to the option 
of each believer. 

III. Alms-giving was at first prescribed, but afterward made 
voluntary, and is regarded as eflectual in opening the gates 
of Heaven to the worshiper. In the early days of Moslem- 
ism, the alms were collected by officers appointed by the 
sovereign, and were applied to pious uses. Their payment 
was afterward left to the conscience, and their application 
determined by the wish, of the giver. Both men and women 
were each expected to make at least one 'pilgrimage to Mecca 
and Mt. Arafat in the course of their lives. Each one may 
either go himself or send another, whose expenses he pays.' 
But the most meritorious of all actions, according to the 
Prophet, was to co-operate with the saints in efforts to propa- 
gate the new religion by force of arms. Female chastity con- 
sisted in loyal fidelity to husbands and in shunning whatever 
might tend to excite their jealousy. In men, on the other 
hand, it consisted in having no illicit intercourse with strange 
women or female slaves other than those of one's own house- 
hold. Besides as many female slaves as one might choose to 
possess, he was also allowed to have /owr wives. One who had 
not a sufficiently ample fortune to marry free women was 
advised to content himself with slaves. In its relations to 
woman, Islam is in every sense far inferior to Paganism. 
On the other hand, the use of wine and all spirituous liquors 
was forbidden. 



1 This pilgrimage takes place in the month of Dzul-hajji. The ceremonies to 
be performed by the pilgrims are very numerous and complicated ; the chief of 
th;m are the wearing of the Ihram, or sacred garment, consisting of two sim- 
pb pieces of cloth wrapped round the loins and over the shoulder; going three 
times round the Kaaba or Holy House of Mecca, kissing or touching sach time 
the black stone, said to have fallen from heaven ; making a journey to Mount 
Arafat, about ten miles distant from Mecca, and offering victims, either goati 
sheep, kine, or camels, BUmis Sects and Heresies, art. Mahometanism. (Tk.) 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Hapid Progress. 201 

A religious system such as this, so congenial to the tem- 
perament and national character of the Arabs, and whose 
fundamental principles may be comprised under these two 
heads, viz: 1. As to faith and the intellectual domain, exclusive 
and prescribed unity; and, 2. As to practice, unbounded and un- 
limited enjoyment, would naturall}^ have a greater hold over, 
and exercise a deeper influence upon, the children of the 
desert than the exalted teaching and moral requirements of 
Christianity. 

Still, the terrible doctrine representing God as absolutely 
preordaining man, and man as iri'evocably predestined, to an 
eternity of either happiness or misery, early met with a most 
decided opposition. Those who refused to accept its more 
harsh and repulsive features formed themselves into one of 
the numerous sects'- into which this religious system, appar- 
ently so simple, was eventually split, and professed the doc- 
trine in a modified form. 

The Moslem form of government is an absolute despotism,^ 
and seems an essential element of the system; though, judg- 
ing from the examples of Hindoo kings and Chinese empe- 
rors, there would not appear to be any necessary connection 
between it and the genius of the Asiatic people. It is there- 
fore peculiar to Moslemism — a peculiarity which may be suf- 
ficiently accounted for by bearing in mind that in the Moslem 
system there is a thorough amalgamation and complete iden- 
tification of the spii'itual with the temporal power, and that 
the latter is, moreover, simply a military domination, based 
upon the right of conquest. This being the case, there will be 
no difficulty in understanding the drift of Mohammed's politi- 
cal axiom: "Two religions can not co-exist in the same State." 



^DolUnger's work, entitled "The Keligion of Mohammed," may he consulted 
for an account of the Moslem sects, pp. 79-134. 

Between the sects of the Kadris and Dshabaris and the orthodox helievers of 
Islam, there was an opposition somewhat analogous to that which the PredeHi- 
iiarians and Pelagians manifested toward orthodox Christianity. Neither are 
the hopeful anticipations of the Mehdi, in their relations to Islam, unlike the 
wild chiliastic reveries of the Christian Millenarians. There were also some 
mystic sects among the Moslems, the chief of which was that of the Sufis, who 
somewhat resemhled the Pantheists and Quietists. L. c, p. 105 sq. 

' Conf. DoUinger, 1. o., p. 38 sq. 



202 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chaipter 5. 

Islam is little more than a bald and superficial imitation 
of Judaism, without, however, its expiatory and vicarious sacri- 
fices. Neither does the Koran make any mention of a hier- 
archy or teaching body of religious men. Mohammed and 
his successors themselves officiated as prayer-leaders, and ex- 
horted the believers. Still, though it was soon found neces- 
sary to appoint certain persons with specific religious duties, 
these do not bear the most remote resemblance, either in 
character or ofiice, to anything in the Christian hierarchy. 
l>rone of them are regarded in the light of ordained priests— 
neither the Sheiks, who preaclied ; nor the Khatibs, who 
read the Koran ; nor the Imans, Avho presided at the daily 
prayers ; nor the Muezzins, who proclaimed the times of 
prayer from the minarets; nor the Kayim, who had the cus- 
tody of the mosques. The functions of all these may be 
discharged equally well, and just as lawfully, by any ordi- 
nary Moslem. Even the Ulemds, a college of men composed 
of three orders, of which that of the Muftis, or Doctors of 
Law and Theology, is the highest and most respected, resem- 
ble the Christian clergy only in external appearance, holding 
about the same relation to them as the Moslem dervishes to 
the Christian monks. As a natural result and logical conse- 
quence of such a ministry, the worship of Islam is barren 
and empty, and an enemy to all symbolism and pictorial 
representation. ITor are the two chief but meaningless festi- 
vals of Islam, called Ids, and by the Turks Beirams — the 
greater intended to commemorate the sacrifice oft'ered by 
Abraham, and the lesser the termination of the fast of 
Kamadhan ; nor Friday, the sacred day of Islam — intended 
to commemorate the creation of the world, and consequently 
a day, not of rest, but of labor and general activity — at all 
calculated to give the Moslems a correct idea of divine 
things, or to inspire them with high and holy thoughts, and 
lift their hearts heavenward, like the solemn fasts of Chris- 
tianity, which have naturally, and as if by a law of neces- 
sity, grown out of the great facts connected with the redemp- 
tion of mankind. 

Mohammedanism spread rapidly. Its progress was partly 
due to the personal qualities and efforts of Mohammed him- 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Rapid Progress. 203 

self, who, being affable in his address and simple in bis man- 
ners, liberal and beneficent, daring and sensual, and, when 
occasion required, harsh and cruel, propagated the religion 
of Islam sword in hand; combating, with terrible energy and 
indomitable resolution, whoever dared to resist his command, 
and holding out to such as espoused and took up arms in de- 
fense of his cause eternal happiness and perpetual and ever- 
renewing delights amid the cooling and refreshing shades of 
Paradise; but partly, also, to the discords of the Christians, 
which prevented them from combining and successfully re- 
sisting the neAv enemy, and to the sympathy of the ISTestorians 
and Mouophysites of Syria and Egypt, who were discontented 
with Byzantine rule. The latter were for a time favored by 
the ambitious and fanatical Moslem, who encoui'aged them to 
secretly aid and abet the war which they themselves were 
openly to undertake against the Lower Empire. So rapid 
were their conquests, that on the death of Mohammed, who 
was attacked by tertian fever and carried off, June 8, a. d. 
632, nearly the whole of Arabia had been subjected to the 
faith of Islam; and, during the course of the first century 
after the Hegira, these lately converted and fanatical Arabs 
went forth under the leadership of the immediate successors 
to Mohammed, the Caliphs (Khalif, "Successor"), Abu-Bekr, 
and Omar I., and, before the close of the year 639, had sub- 
dued all Syria and Palestine. After the deplorable capitula- 
tion of Jerusalem (a. d. 637), SophroJiius, the Patriarch of the 
city, conducted Omar into the Church of the Resurrection, 
crying out, as he passed through the bewildered people who 
had gathered there: "Behold the abomination of desolation 
in the Holy Place, foretold by Daniel the Prophet." Egypt 
was subdued by Othman in a. d. 640, and Persia in a. d. 651. 
The Church of the East, split up into rival sects and weak- 
ened by internal dissensions, was incapable of unity, either 
of purpose or action, and entirely destitute of the vigor and 
courage characteristic of the ages of faith, which opposed 
arms to arms, repelled force by force, and gloried in defend- 
ing the Cross of Christ. 

During the caliphate of the Ommiads, the entire coast of 
Northern Africa (a. d. 707), with its once flourishing churches, 



204 Period 2. E'poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

and even Spain itself (a. d. 711), were subdued by the Sara- 
cens. Constantinople alone still held out, after having suc- 
cessfully sustained two long and obstinate sieges (a. d. 669- 
676, 717-718). 

There can be do doubt that Islam, with its terrible genius 
for destruction and its hundred millions of believers, has, 
like all the great events which take place in this world by 
the inscrutable decrees of Providence, a determinate influence 
and special office in the moral government of mankind. It 
is not, however, permitted us to fathom the depths of the 
Di\'ine Councils, or to do more than venture, with becoming 
reverence, a vague guess and doubtful forecast as to the ul- 
timate purpose of the Supreme Disposer of all things. As 
Mohammed commenced by combating Paganism, it is not 
unlikely that the monotheism of the Moslems was intended 
to be for those idolaters who embraced it, one of the stages 
in their passage to Christianity. And, judging from the rig- 
orous character of the then prevailing rationalism, it should 
seem that it would be a very eflacient means of leading such 
Mohammedans, and even Jews, as had acquired any consid- 
erable degree of mental and moral culture, to the knowledge 
and acceptance of Christianity. When it is borne in mind that 
idolatry was prevalent in Africa, and pantheism in Asia, the 
propagation of the faith of Islam, and the consequent author- 
ity which it exercised over men's minds, may be regarded as 
constituting a sort of breakwater, or spiritual quarantine, pro- 
tecting the already degenerate Christianity^ of the Eastern 
nations from any further mutilation and perversion that 
might come from those quarters. 

"Were proof needed that the danger of a wide-spread and 
complete corruption was really approaching and imminent, 
it might be furnished, not only in the tendency then so de- 
cided and prevalent among the Christians of the East, to 
split into innumerable heretical and discordant sects, but also 
in the fact that the immoral, corrupting, and extravagant 
doctrine of the Paulicians and Bogomiles was received with 
universal favor. ITay, more, the schismatical Greeks had 



• Dollmger, The Keligion of Mohammed, p. 140 sq. 



§ 176. Mohammed — His Doctrine — Its Eapld Progress. 205 

become so degraded that even the Mohammedans, when re- 
ferring to them as compared with themselves, were accus- 
tomed to speak of them in terms of contempt. 

"When Islam is considered in its relations to Western Chris- 
tendom, its mission is still more apparent. The Moslems, 
being in a sense the representatives and inheritors of the Old 
Law, became instruments in the hands of God for the chas- 
tisement of the enfranchised and free nations of the West, thus 
at once checking their downward course and punishing their de- 
generacy, rousing them from their inactivity, and calling into 
life their slumbering energies. When chastisement had been 
administered, their work was accomplished ; the scourge was 
arrested, and the spirit of wrath and vengeance disappeared. 
The Church had indeed been violently shaken by the terrible 
convulsions by which South, and Southwestern Europe was 
visited ; but, when these had passed away, the world beheld 
the old edifice, though somewhat damaged by the mighty 
tempest that had swept over her, still as firmly seated as ever 
upon her immovable foundations, and rising in more than 
her ancient strength and beauty from the surrounding ruins. 

Notwithstanding the vast power and wide dominion exer- 
cised by the Moslems, they have for centuries been disquieted 
by a prophecy,^ according to which " the Ottoman Empire is 
one day to he destroyed by the Christians." 

While considering these events from our point of view, we 
should not forget the pecular position of Christians under 
the domination of Mohammed and the Caliphs. While de- 
claring Christ to be a mere man, Mohammed professed the 
greatest respect for both Him and His Gospel. He at times 
treated the Christians with remarkable lenity; thus acting a 
part strangely inconsistent with his own professed revelations. 
Even the Caliphs were at first tolerant of the Christians, 
probably from political motives, imposing no heavier burden 
than a capitation tax on either them or the Jews. Moreover, 
many educated Christians wrote apologies, in which they de- 
fended their own faith, demonstrated the inadmissibility of 



^Ltidov. Domenichi makes mention of these prophesies in his Profetie dei Ma- 
ometani, Firenze, 1548. 



206 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

the interpretations put upon certain texts of the Old Testa- 
ment by which they were made applicable to Islam/ main- 
tained the divinity of Christ and the free will of man, refuted 
with unassailable arguments the doctrine of fatalism and of 
unconditional predestination, and the assertion that God is 
the author of evil. 

But the Caliphs soon put an end to such inconsiderate con- 
troversy. Elated by their success and numerous victories, 
they carried into practical effect the political axiom of Mo- 
hammed which had hitherto been held in abeyance : " Two 
religions can not co-exist in the same State." They replied 
with the sword to the arguments of Christian apologists, 
treated the Christians themselves as an obnoxious sect, and 
gave them the alternative of apostasy or death. 

§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts in the East and in 
the Prankish Empire. 

^.— BYZAJSTTINE ICONOCLASTS. 

I. Mansi, T. XII-XIV. Harduin, T. III. and IV. Of the Byzantines, the 
Cnronicle of Theophanes Confess, (f before 820), and the Breviar. hist, of iWce- 
phorus, Patr. of Const. (t828) in Ang. Mai Nov. PP. Bibl., V. I. 146. (Tb.) 
Theodori Studitae (t826) opp. ed. Sirmond. opp. var. 1. Georgii Hamartoli, 
Chron. ed. E. do Muralto, Petersbvirg, 1865. Ada S. Andreae in Act. SS. Bol- 
land. Oct. VIII., p. 124 sq. — Goldasl, imperialia decreta de cultu imaginum in iitro- 
que imperio promulgata, Prancofurti, 1608. Joannis Damasceni Adyot aTro7j>yriTuml 
'npuQ rovQ dia^aXkovTac^ rac^ dyiac; elicovat; (Opp. ed. Ic Qide7ij T. I., p. 305. sq.) The 
principal documents, in Rosier' s Patristic Library, Pt. X., p. 474-568. 

II. Maimhourg, Hist, de I'htjresie des Iconoclastes, 2 vols., Paris, 1679. Natal. 
Alex, dissert, adv. vet. novosque ioonomachos ac praesertim contra, libh. IV. 

' (Carolin.) (hist. eccl. saec. VIII.) Schlosser; Hist, of the Iconoclast Emperors 
of the Eastern Empire, Prkft. 1812. Kaierkamp, Ch. H., V. IV., p. 40-96. 



' S ach a passage is Deuteron. xxxiii. 2 : " The Lord came from Sinai, and from 
Seir he rose up to us : He hath appeared from mount Pharan." It was pre- 
tended that these words foretold the revelation by Moses, that by Christ (since 
it is said that Seir is a mountain of Galilee), and by Mohammed. But the 
mountain Pharan is altogether too far away from Hcdshaz and Mecca to bo 
considered as in any way connected with Mohammed. See Dollinger, Man'l 
of Ch. H., Vol. I., Pt. II., p. 313. Nay, the Mohammedans even accused the 
Christians of having erased the name of Mohammed from the Bible, and in- 
sisted that Christ said : " I announce to you that a prophet shall come after me 
whose name is Muomeih." See Phrazes in his oorp. script, hist. Byzant., Bonn. 
1838, p. 340. 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 207 

'{Marx, The Iconoclasm of the Byzantine Emperors, Treves, 1809. ITefele, 
Hist, of Councils, Vol. III., p. 335-457. Palma, Praeleot. hist, eccl., T. II., Pt. 
II., p. 3-43. 

While the Moslems were living peaceably, side by sidt?- 
with the Christians, and both were, to all appearance, dally 
cnltivating more friendly relations with each other, there was 
no concealing the fact that the followers of Mohammed had 
taken deep offense at the prevailing and growing use of im- 
ages in the Christian churches — a practice which the law- 
giver of Mecca had emphaticalh^ condemned from the very 
ontset of his career. The aversion to the use of imasres, 
manifested by the first Christians, was early overcome by the 
decided taste for the fine ai'ts innate in the character of the 
Greeks and still strong among them, and by the requirements 
of popular devotion, of which visible signs and symbols are 
the natural expression. It can not, however, be denied that 
the use of images, in itself so perfectly legitimate, had grad- 
ually given rise to many and glaring abuses, such as the 
practice of employing them as sponsors for children and 
decking them in all sorts of unbecoming adornments. These 
abuses were at once the cause and occasion of a turbulent 
reaction, which, as is usual in such cases, defeated its own 
purpose by going beyond the limits of legitimate protest 
and condemning even a rational use of images, and led to a 
contest more sanguinary and violent than any which the dog- 
matic controversies had excited in the East. ISTay, more ; so 
terrific was the iconoclastic struggle, while it lasted, that it 
destroyed the peace of the Church and threatened the de- 
struction of the State. 

The origin of this deplorable controversy is usually ascribed 
to Leo the Isaurian, a rade and ignorant soldier, who, rising 
from the humblest walks of life, finally succeeded, by the aid 
of the army, in reaching the imperial throne (a. d. 717). 
Having already employed violent measures to compel the 
Jews to receive baptism, and driven the Montauists to such, 
a degree of desperation that they frequently resorted to sui- 
cide to escape his tyranny, he next turned his attention to 
the task of suppressing the use of images. He brought to 
the contest the fierce spirit of the law-giver of Mecca rather 



208 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

than the moderation of the one of Sinai, declaring "he could 
not endure that Christ should be represented under the form 
of a dumb and senseless figure, made of coarse material and 
bedaubed with vulgar colors, and that such representations 
would shock both Jews and Mohammedans and repel them 
from Christianity."^ He therefore assumed the oflice of a 
self-constituted reformer of the Church, and set about putting 
an end to this superstition. He commenced by ordering 
Pope Gregory II. to have the images and paintings on the 
walls of the churches raised sufiiciently high to be beyond 
the reach of the embraces and kisses of the devout multi- 
tude, thus, as he thought, preventing profanation and remov- 
ing the occasion of sin. 

Finding that his order was ineffectual, he published, in the 
year 726, in spite of the representations and protests of Ger- 
manus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and other theologians 
of the capital, an edict forbidding the veneration of statues, 
images, and mosaics, and branding the jjractice as idolatrous. 

This edict was shortly followed hj a second (c. A; D. 730) 
of a far more severe aiid sweeping character, ordering the 
complete destruction of all images throughout the "Western 
Empire. ISTo words can convey an adequate idea of the agi- 
tation and tumult which followed its promulgation. The 
question, unlike any abstruse definition of a dogma, or au- 

iThe use of images, besides being a stumbling-block to Mohammedans, as 
was maintained, was objectionable to the Iconoclastic emperors for other rea- 
sons. They insisted — 1. That images had been forbidden in the Old Law; 2. 
That painting and sculpture were eminently Pagan arts ; 3. That it was entirely 
unbecoming and sinful to represent Christ and his Saints by lifeless matter; 
4. That to represent Christ under human form was to give rise to a iertium quid, 
inasmuch as, though the human attributes might, the Divine attributes could 
not, be limited by forms of sense, and consequently the image would be some- 
thing giving no adequate or correct representation of the Person of Christ, 
thus leading to the Eutychian or Monophysite errors; or that, if this conclu- 
sion were rejected, the only alternative left was to take refuge in Nestorianism, 
and, by maintaining that Christ could be represented under human and sensible 
■ forms, admit that the Persons might be separated in Him, and His Humanity 
have a self-subsistent existence of its own. The true solution of the whole 
difficulty, and the motive which prompted imperial action, arc to be sought in 
the meddlesomeness of those emperors who, like their predecessors in regard to 
the earlier dogmatic controversies, were always interfering in ecclesiastical 
legislation. 



§ 177. TJie Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 209 

thoritative solution of a subtle point of metaphysics, was 
within the comprehension of the multitude, and bore di- 
rectly upon their religious life and devotional habits. It has 
been said that if an order were issued at the present day, 
commanding the breaking and destroying of all the statues 
and images of the Blessed Virgin set up along the country 
highways and metropolitan thoroughfares of any Catholic 
country of Europe, no such revulsion of feeling would take 
place as that which followed the promulgation of Leo's edict. 
The soldiers charged with its execution were treated with 
every sort of indignity, and frequently lost their lives in en- 
deavoring to carry its instructions into effect. 

Above the bronze portal of the imperial palace stood a 
magnificent image of Christ,' which was held in great rever- 
ence by the people. According to Theophanes and Cedrenus, 
the destroying of this was the occasion of a popular tumult, 
in which many of the participants paid with their lives the 
penalty of their devotion. When a soldier of the imperial 
guard had placed a ladder against the gateway, for the pur- 
pose of taking down the image, a number of ladies collected 
around begged him to spare it for their^sakes. But, instead 
of heeding their remonstrances and acceding to their wishes, 
he struck the face of the image a blow with his ax — an act 
which so wounded the religious sensibilities, and so excited 
the indignation of the ladies, that, forgetting for a time the 
gentleness of their sex, and yielding to the fierce impulse of 
the moment, they drew the ladder from under the soldier's 
feet, precipitated him to the ground, set upon and murdered 
him. 

The chief opposition came from the monks who supplied 
the images and the bulk of the people who entertained great 
reverence for them. 

The Emperor's anger was still more inflamed against the 
iconolaters by the conduct of one Kosmos, who, taking ad- 
vantage of the popular indignation against the Emperor, 

' Tho 60-oalled avTupuyviiTTi^ = warrantor, because, as the legend went, it had, on 
one occasion, given security for the payment of money borrowed by a pious 
sailor. 

VOL. II — 14 



210 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 1. Chapter 5. 

raised the standard of rebellion in Greece. The insurrection 
was speedily suppressed, and Kosnios apprehended and exe- 
cuted ; but the event itself aflbrded Leo a plausible excuse 
for pursuing his iconoclastic policy with greater energy. 

In the year 730, ho entered upon a systematic warfare 
against images (shovoxXaano:;), which he carried on with un- 
remitting severity till the day of his death, a. d. 741. 

Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had already 
reached the venerable age of ninety-six, having refused to 
comply with the Emperor's wishes, was deposed and super- 
seded by Anastasins, the secretary and compliant tool of Leo. 
But, if he could thus dispose of Germanus, he had no such 
power over John of Damascus, the greatest theologian of his 
day, and who, living under the government of the Caliphs, 
and having no reason to fear the anger of Leo, publisLed 
three exceedingly able discourses in defense of the proper use 
of images. Both Gregory II. and Gregory III. protested cm- 
phaticalh^ against the imputation cast upon the Church by 
the Emperor, of having for eight hundred years tolerated and 
favored an idolatrous worship. Tliey stated that no Chris- 
tian could be persuaded to believe that there was anything 
divine in the material statue or picture itself, or that any 
divine virtue resided in it, and that consequently they could 
not Avorship it; that the most illiterate person and the feeblest 
intellect could distinguish between the downright adoration 
of images and the relative homage that might be paid to 
them because of the originals which they represented; and 
that the prohibitions formerly laid upon the Jews were not 
applicable to the Christians, because, since Christ, the second 
Person of the Adorable Trinity, had become incarnate and 
assunred the form of man. His representation as such was 
both possible and admissible. 

Sucli churches as might defy the power and escape the re- 
sentment of Leo, at once cut' the Iconoclasts ofi' from theii' 
communion. In the j-ear 731, Gregory III. convoked a council 
at Pome, attended by ninety-three bishops, in which sentence 
of excommunication was passed upon all enemies of holy 
images. The Emperor, now under sentence of exeommuui- 
cation, determined to take revenge upon the Pope, and sent 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 211 

a fleet against Rome, which was dispersed by a storm, and 
wrecked in the Adriatic Gnlf. After this failure, he con- 
tented himself with confiscating those portions of the Patri- 
mony of St. Peter situated in Calabria and Sicily, and trans- 
ferring Greece and lilyricum from the Roman to the Byzantine 
patriarchate. Leo labored for a period of twelve years in the 
vain attempt to root out a religions principle deeply seated in 
the minds of earnest Christians, and at his death (a. d. 741) 
beheld his empire distracted in both East and West, and his 
purpose as far from its accomplishment as at the commence- 
ment of his reign. His son and successor, Constantine Co- 
2)ronyjnus^ (a. d. 741-775), surpassed even his father in the 
malignant hatred with which he pursued the defenders of 
images throughout his empire. The controversy had been 
heretofore mainly a religious one, but it now assumed a dif- 
ferent aspect, and took the character of a political contest. 

During the first year of Constantine's reign, and while he 
was absent on an expedition against the Saracens, a report of 
his death having got abroad, the advocates of the use of im- 
ages rose in revolt, aijd placed Artabasdus, the Emperor's 
brother-in-law, on the imperial throne. The usurper, who, 
to gain the affections of the people, proclaimed himself the 
protector of such as opposed Iconoclasm, was unable to retain 
possession of the throne, and having been defeated by Con- 
stantine, ISfovember 2, a. b. 743, paid dearly for his rashness 
and ambition. Constantine had both him and his son bound 
in chains, exposed in the hippodrome, and, after having put 
this indignity upon them, ordered their eyes to be plucked 
out. All the adherents of the usurper underwent a punish- 
ment equally cruel. His anger bore still more heavily upon 
the unfortunate and vacillating Anastasius, who, having been 
an iconoclast under Leo, changed sides under Artabasdus, 
and, after having suflered the most terrible cruelties in pun- 
ishment of his relapse, again veered about, and, upon his 
restoration to the patriarchate, became the submissive and 
subservient tool of Constantine. The unworthy patriarch did 

? 

' So called from Kciirpof, dirt, because, at his baptism, he defiled tlifi baptismal 
font. 



212 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

all in his power to facilitate the carrying out of the em- 
peror's designs. He crowned his son, who was then asso- 
ciated with his father in the government of the empire— a 
measure intended to secure the permanency of Coustantine's 
dynasty. 

Constantine availed himself of a most opportune moment, 
when the Lombards were seriously threatening the Pope, 
'to renew and add to the severity of his decrees against 
the use of images. In order to secure the good-will and 
co-operation of the bishops, he amused each in turn with 
the flattering hope or promise of the patriarchal throne of 
Constantinople, left vacant by the death of Anastasins (a. d. 
753.) 

He also summoned, in the next year, the bishops to meet 
in council at the capital, to provide measures for the complete 
suppression of the use of images. This council afterward 
aspired to the more pretentious title of the Seventh Ecumen- 
ical. It assembled in the Hieria palace, opposite Constanti- 
nople, was attended by three hundred and thirty-eight bish- 
ops belonging to Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece ; 
and was presided over by Theodosius of Ephesus, but among its 
members there was not a single one of the Oriental patriarchs. 
The patriarchate of Constantinople was still vacant, and those 
of Antioeh, Alexandria, and Jerusalem wei-e under Moham- 
medan dominion. 

Although the great majority of the bishops condemned in 
their hearts the principles of Iconoclasm, yet they consented 
to become facile tools of the Emperor, and descended to the 
meanness of doing his bidding. They denounced the art of 
painting as accursed and blasphemous, and as the invention 
of the devil ; declared that such as should manufacture or 
pay reverence to images, or set them up either in churches 
or in private houses, should, if ecclesiastics, be deposed, and, 
if laymen, be cut oti' from the communion of the Church-, 
after which they were to be handed over to the civil autlior- 
ity, to be dealt with according to the ordinances of the impe- 
rial laws ; and iinally, as if to iill the measure of their ig- 
nominious abasement, they anathematized Germanus, the 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 213 

deceased Pati-iarch of Constaatinople, Gregory of Cyprus, and 
John of Damascus} 

The Pope, and the three Oriental patriarchs living under 
the Mohammedan government, condemned the decrees of this 
synod. This action was followed by a new and more decided 
opposition to the Emperor, on the one hand, and, on the other, 
by a more bloody and relentless persecution of the advocates 
of images. 

Monasteries were demolished, libraries destroyed, and 
monks given the alternative of marrying or quitting the 
country. Many of them were chucked into sacks, had stones 
tied about their necks, and were cast into the sea; others had 
their eyes plucked, and were dragged through the streets of 
the city. 

Among the most resolute of those who withstood the im- 
jjcrial tyranny was the famous abbot, Stephen the Younger, 
Avho dwelt in the grotto of Auxentius, on a lofty mountain 
near Constantinople. Pie inspired the monks, who flocked 
to him in great numbers, with his own courage and resolu- 
tion, but advised such as felt any diffidence of their fortitude 
to retire to distant districts in the East and "West. The Em- 
peror, conscious of the importance of having a man of such 
influence espouse his cause,dispatched a person of high rank 
to him with a present of dried figs, dates, and such other 
fruits as the monks subsisted on. Stephen rejected the in- 
sidious overture, declaring that he would not accept the gift 
of a heretic, nor deny his faith, aud that he Avas ready to die 
for the image of Christ. When summoned before the Em- 
peror, drawing from his cowl a piece of coin bearing the 
Emperor's effigy, he said : " What punishment shall I suffer if 
I trample this under my feetV" And, having thrown the coin 
down, he trod upon it, whereupon he was cast into prison for 
so insulting the imperial ef^gj; thus demonstrating, by an 
argumentum ad hominem, that reverence paid to an image 
might be transferred to the original. 

Upon entering the prison, he found there three hundred 
and forty-two monks, some with their hands, some with their 

• Conf. HefeU, Ch. H., V. III., p. 379-386. 



214 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. CJiapter 5. 

ears, and some with their noses cut off; others whose eyes 
had heen bored out, and all awaiting sentence of death. 

Leo IV. (a. d. 775-780), who succeeded Constantiue, adopted 
the same principles and pursued the same policy as his father; 
and if his measures were somewhat less severe, it was, in a 
great measure, due to the influence of his wife, Irene, an 
Athenian lady and a devout advocate of the use of images. 

Discovering that the use of images had heen introduced 
into the imperial household, Leo severely punished such as 
were implicated in this act of disobedience to the existing 
edicts, and, during the remaining four years of his reign, 
enforced the obnoxious laws with greater rigor. Upon the 
death of the Enaperor, in the early part of the year 780, 
Irene, aided by the advocates of images, whom she had often 
befriended at great risk to herself, assumed the reins of gov- 
ernment during the minority of her infant sou, Constantine 
VI., surnamed Porphyrogenitus, a boy only ten years of age. 
She was also instrumental in convoking the Seventh Ecu- 
menical Council. 

Panl, the iconoclastic patriarch of Constantinople, pre- 
viously to bis death, expressed regret that he had consented 
to he set over a church separated from the communion of the 
Catholic world, and recommended as his successor Tarasius 
(a. d. 784j, the former private secretai'y of the empress Irene, 
a man of austere life and great learning, who would consent 
to accept the dignity only on condition that the unity of the 
Church should be restored, and that Pope Hadrian would con- 
voke an ecumenical council for that purpose. Pope Hadrian 
received Tarasius again into the Church, and wrote to the 
empress, who had sent a deputation of bishops to Eome, to 
request him to direct the action of the council. 

SEVEKTH ECUMENICAL COUXCIL, a. d. 787. 

This council held the first of its eight sessions at Constan- 
tinople, A. D. 786, hut owing to the disturbances raised by the 
troops, who were still attached to the memory of Leo and 
Constantine Copronymus, it was adjourned, and met again at 
Nice, A. D. 787. 

There were present, besides the two papal legates, Peter, 



§ 177. Tlie Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 215 

Archpriest of St. Potcr's, and another Feter, Abbot of St. 
Sabas, who presided over the council, more tlian three hun- 
dred bishops, cither in person or by representation, and a 
great number of monks and ecclesiastics not entitled to vote. 
The patriarch Tarasius, though occupying a position below 
the papal legates in the council, directed its proceedings. In 
accordance with the requirements of Pope Hadrian, the acts 
of the so-called council of 754 were rescinded. The teaching 
sot forth in his letter relative to the proper respect to be paid 
to images was accepted, first by Tarasius, and afterward by 
the whole council. After a full discussion of the point at 
issue, the council declared that a rational use of images was 
perfectly lawful. 

In the seventh session, a document was drawn up by Tara- 
sius, specifying what objects were included under the term 
images, and defining the kind of reverence due to them, a 
report of which was also sent to Constantino and Irene. 

It was here declared that not only the sign of the Cross, 
but also images of Christ, of the Virgin Mary, of angels, 
and of holy and devout men, drawn in color, composed of 
mosaic work, or made of other suitable material, might be 
placed in church, upon sacred vessels and vestments, on walls 
and tables, and be set up along the highways. The proper 
sense of the word rrpo^xui^ecu, as expressing the honor to be 
paid to men, was then fully stated and explained according 
to its biblical and patristic use. The council then went on 
to repudiate the imputation of idolatry in the use of images, 
in the following terras : " Bowing or prostrating oneself be- 
fore an image {u/r/jTixyj 7rpo!;xuuyj(Tc;), which is simply a token 
of love and a relative honor [ayzxr/.-q rpozy-uvfjac:;) rendered to 
the original, should not be confounded with the adoration 
{)M.Tps.ia) which is due to God alone. Christians," it continued, 
" do not call images gods, neither do they serve them as 
gods, nor place their hopes of salvation in them, nor expect 
future judgment at their hands; but, while refusing to pay 
them the honor due to God, they salute them out of respect 
to the memory of those they represent, and as a token of the 
love they entertain for the originals." 

At the close of the seventh session, the council was directed, 



216 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 1. Cha-pter 5. 

by an imperial order, to repair in a body to Constantinople, 
where the eighth and last session was held, on the twenty- 
third day of October, in the imperial palace of Magnaura. 
The empress Irene and her son, Constantine, wei'e in attend- 
ance, surrounded by a vast concourse of people. The em- 
press ordered the decrees which had been passed to be pub- 
lically read, and, after having asked the bishops if these 
expressed the sense of the whole council and received au 
affirmative answer, accompanied with repeated acclama- 
tions, she had them placed before herself and her son, both 
of whom signed them. The council was then solemnly 
closed. 

Constantine VI. came of age A. D. 791. The next six years 
were passed in a contest with his mother to obtain the reins 
of government. Irene finally gained the upper hand, and 
enjoyed five years of sole rule, when she was dethroned in a 
rebellion, headed by her secretary, Mcephoros, and banished 
to the island of Lesbos, where she died in the following 
year. 

During his reign (a. d. 802-811) and that of his successor, 
Stauracius, which lasted only a few months, and of Michael I., 
Burnamed Ehangabes (a. d. 811-813), the controversy was 
carried on with less vehemence and bitterness. But when 
Michael, feeling himself unequal to the task of governing an 
empire, resigned in favor of Leo V. (a. d. 813-820), surnamed 
the Armenian, and retired into a monastery, it again broke 
out with increased violence. This emperor, nicknamed the 
Chameleon, because at his coronation he refused to make 
any pn'ofession of faith, permitted a number of synods to be 
held, the most notable of which is that of the year 816, pre- 
sided over by Theodorus Cassiteras, a layman of noble birth, 
but of iconoclastic antecedents, being a collateral descendant 
of Constantine Copronymus, and whom Leo had raised to the 
[latriarchal throne. This synod annulled the decisions of the 
Seventh Ecumenical Council (a. d. 787), and reasserted those 
of the synod held at Constantinople, a. d. 754. This action 
was followed by an imperial edict, said to have been inspired 
by John the Grammarian and Theodorus Cassiteras, the lead- 
ers of the Iconoclasts, who persuaded the emperor that the 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 217 

unhappy condition of his empire should be ascribed to tlie 
idolatry of his subjects, and i-egarded as a punishnient of God 
npon their infidelity. They also foretold that his reign would 
be long and glorious if he would follow out the x^olicy pur- 
sued by his predecessor, Leo the Isanriau. The emperor, 
acting upon the faith of this prophecy, ordered many monks 
and ecclesiastics who favored the use of images, to quit the 
country. Some of these were received into the monastery of 
St. Prazedis, at Eome, by the reigning Pope, Pascal, and 
others were consoled in their exile by letters written from his 
prison by the intrepid Theodore the Studite. 

Michael II., surnamed the Stammerer (a. d. 820-829), recalled 
the exiles in the early part of his reign, but, later on, adopted 
the persecuting policy of his predecessors. Theodore the 
Studite, who was allowed to return with the rest, still prov- 
ing intractable, was again banished, and died in exile, a. d. 
826. 

Michael was succeeded by his son Theophihis (a. d. 829- 
842), who had been educated by Theodoras Cassiteras, and 
had imbibed all his hatred against the use and veneration of 
images. He was the most bitter and cruel of all the icono- 
clastic emperors. Pie expressed his determination to sweep 
the whole tribe of monks from the face of the earth, and is 
said to have martyred the whole confraternity of Abrahamites 
on an island in the Euxine Sea. He scourged some, impris- 
oned others, and burnt the hands of Lazarus, a celebrated 
paiuter, with hot iron bars, to prevent him from ever again 
engaging in his hated art. He undertook a discussion with 
some of the Catholic party, among the most famous of whom 
were the two brothers, Theophanes the singer and Theodore 
the illuminator, upon whose faces he branded some ofiensive 
iambics composed by himself. 

But if he despised, his wife, Theodora, secretly favored, the 
iconolaters. Upon the death of her husband, a. d. 842, 31i- 
chael III., afterward known as The Drunkard, being still a 
minor, Theodora became regent. She recalled the banished 
monks, and summoned a synod to meet at Constantinople 
(a. d. 842), at which the decrees of the Second Council of 



218 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

Nice (a. t>. 787) were reaffirmed, and the Iconoclasts (saovo- 
x/.affTai) anathematized. 

On the iiinetcCDtli of February of the same year, a solemn 
procession, headed by the patriarch, the clergy, the empress 
and her son, moved around the Church of St. Sophia, and the 
day has ever since been observed in the Eastern Church as 
the Feast of Orthodoxy, or thanksgiving for the final over- 
throw of the iconoclastic heresy (--J -/.uptax'q ri^c opdooo^iaq). 

The Eighth Ecumenical Council (a. d. 869) repeated the 
condemnation of the Iconoclasts. 

From a theolocjical point of view, there was an end of the 
controversy. The question, which had disturbed the Church 
for above one hundred and twenty years, had been set at rest 
forever by a clear and precise definition, after a thorough and 
candid examination of all the controverted points. 

But from a political point of view, the case was very differ- 
ent. From tlic breaking out of the controversy, there bad 
been a manifest and ever-growing alienation of the Western 
from the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, which ended in 
a complete separation of the two, under the respective names 
of the Byzantine and the Germano-FranJdsh Empires. 

5.— THE ICONOCLASTIC CONTKOVEEST IN THE FEANKISH 

EMPIEE. 

Augusta cone. Nicaeni II. censura sen libri Carolini, anno 790, od. 1549. Eli 
Phili (pseudonymous; properly J. du T'dld, Ep. of St. Bricux, afterward of 
Meaux; lie is suspected of Calvinism), according to the slnylc Codex, now kept 
in the library of the Arsenal at Paris, which is either entirely or partly the 
■work of a forger. The Codex, of which Archbishop Hincmar of Eheims availed 
himself, and the Codex Vaticanus, from which the Apostolic Librarian, Steuchits, 
made his quotations, have hitherto remained lost without a trace; cd. Heumann, 
Hanov. 1731 ; also in Goldastl Imperat. decrot., p. 07 sq., and in Migne, scr. lat., 
T. 08, printed from Fhilt's text. Conf. Claudius Taurin., do cultu imaginum 
(fragmenta), and Dunjali lib. respons. (>Iax. Bibl., T. XIV.; Bibl. Patrist. 
Colon., T. IS., Pt. II., p. 87.J sq.) Acts in Mansl, T. XIII.-XIV., aniRarduin, 
T. IV. Conf. Hefcle, Hist, of Councils, Vol. III., p. G51-673. 

Anterior to the breaking out of the present controversy, 
the Christians inhabiting tbe western provinces of the E.oman 
Empire had possessed a clear and intelligent knowledge of 
the use of images, according to the mind of the Church. 
Images bad been employed by them to adorn churches, to 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 219 

enhance the solemnity of public worship, and to awaken and 
quicken faith and devotion. The liveliness of Oriental im- 
agination, always liable to giddy flights and dangerous ex- 
cesses, was less to bo feared among the more phlegmatic 
populations of the West. The Germans, of all people, were 
the least in danger of being carried away by an unruly fancy, 
inasmuch as they had never worshiped their divinities under 
the form of pictorial representations, and but seldom a'i per' 
sonified in the objects and phenomona of nature. ISTo consid- 
erable trace of idolatrous worship appeared among them 
until much later; and when idolatry did make its appear- 
ance, it came associated with many other elements distinc- 
tively Pagan, and was difficult to root out. To banish it in 
the Frankish Empire required a vigorous and well-sustained 
effort. "When the decrees of the Greek councils were made 
known in the "West, they were but ill-received — .1. Because 
the people had not yet acquired a taste for the fine arts, and 
did not feel the want of rejDresenting persons and events by 
images; 2. Because the Germans, who had now become idol- 
aters, might excuse their own practice by appealing to the 
use of images among Christians; and, 3. Because the Ger- 
mans, who, unlike the Orientals, never fell prostrate before 
their kings as a mark of reverence, and humbled themselves 
to God alone, might not fully comprehend — nay, probably 
entirely misconceive — the meaning and import of the term 
Ttpo^xuvTiatz. 

A defective translation of the acts of the Second Council 
of Nice had been sent to Charlemagne by Pope Hadrian I., 
which, after having been further mutilated by ignorant and 
blundering copyists, was submitted to a number of theolo- 
gians. The worst apprehensions were verified. 

The acts of the council were severely and unjustly cen- 
sured in the so-called Caroline Books (Quatuor Libri Carolini), 
composed (a. d. 790) in part by Charlemagne, but chiefly by 
the English Alcuin and other ecclesiastics.' The natural 

'The contents of these Books are, in substance, as follows; 1. Both Eastern 
synods, the Iconoclastic of 754 and the Iconolatric of Nice (787), are equally 
"infames" and " ineptissimae," and both transgress the boundaries of truth. 
2. Adoration and ■worship are due only to God — Ho alono Is "adorandus" and 



220 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

vehemence of the French theologians and the irritation of 
Charlemagne, whose proposed match between the princess 
Rothrud and Constantiue,the son of Irene, had been rejected 
by the latter, gave point and emphasis to this theological 
treatif-e. 

Owing either to the faulty translation of the Conciliar 
Acts or to the omission of a negative pai'ticle^ by an oversight 
of the copyist, the following blasphemous utterance was at- 
tributed to the Nicene Fathers : " I bestow service or adora- 
tion on images of the saints even as on the Divine Trinity;" 
whereas the council had been specially careful to distinguish 
between the reverence due to images and the adoration to be 
given to God alone (/; xar« larpuov Tzpozxlivriacq). 

Thus misled, the three hundred bishops who assembled at 
the Council of Frankfort, summoned by Charlemagne, a. d. 
794, to consider the errors of Adoptionism, decided against 
the veneration, while allowing the use of images.^ 



" colendus," but not the creature. 3. The saints are but " venerandi," and only 
an "opportuna vencratio" must be rendered to them. 4. There do indeed occur 
instances of an ''adoratio" of men, consisting in a bow or a kiss; yet are these 
acts employed only " salutationis causa," and out of a sense of love or humility. 
5. Even this kind of " adoratio " must not be paid to pictures, for they are with- 
out life, and the works of the hands of men. They may be retained — a. As an 
ornament of churches ; and, i. In commemoration of past events — but all " ado- 
ratio" and all "cultura" must be avoided. 6. It matters not whether they bo 
kept or not; they are not necessary, and it was wholly wrong in the ^Nicene 
synod to have threatened with anathema all those who do not revere images. 
7. Images must not be put on a par with the cross of Christ, or with Holy 
Writ, the sacred vessels, and the relics of the bodies or garments of the saints. 
All these things, according to ancient tradition, are venerated in the West, but 
not images. 8. It is foolish to burn lights or incense before pictures. 9. If 
they be deemed sacred, then must they not be put in dirty places — e. g. by the 
roadside, as is done by the Greeks. Conf. the Analysis in Hejele's Hist, of Coun- 
cils, Vol. III., p. 655 sq. Piper, Introd. to Monumental Theol., p. 219 sq. 

'They read there: "Suscipio venerandas imagines, et quae secundum scrvi- 
tium adorationis, quae substantiali et vivificae Trinitati emitto," wherefore the 
council is styled "synodus ineptissima, pseudosynodus;" while in the correct 
translation of Anastasius it is said: "Suscipio et amplector venerabiles imagines; 
adorationem autem, quae fit secundum ^arpeiav, tantummodo supersubstantiali 
et vivificae Trinitati conserve." 

^Coneil. Prancfort. in Maiisl, T. XIII., p. 909. Special attention is here 
directed to the Second Canon, which, while approving the Libri Carolini, 
attributes views wholly false to the Second Council of Nice, or, as it is here 



§ 177. The Controversies of the Iconoclasts. 221 

In the 3'ear 824, tlio Greek emperor Michael the Stammerer 
dispatched an embassy to Louis the Mild, s4iccessor to Charle- 
magne, for the purpose of renewing bonds of confederation, 
and with a view of bringing him over to the principles of 
the Iconoclasts. Louis assembled a council at Paris (a. d. 
825), which, owing to Greek influence and the powerful op- 
position of Claudius, Bishop of Turin, rejected the Council 
of Nice and charged Pope Hadrian with having favored the 
superstition of the Greeks. 

This action is all the more surprising, inasmuch as the ed- 
itor of the Caroline Books, probably Alcuiu, notwithstanding 
the bitterness with which he assails the Greeks and the 
Oriental ccnirt, accusing both of a lack of genuine dignity 
and manliness, declares repeatedly that while it is forbidden 
to adore (adorare), it is permitted to revere images; and that, 
while, guarding against any superstitious veneration of im- 
ages,' the faithful should not contemptuously despise such as 
serve for the adornment of churches or the ediiication of the 
faithful. 

After Pope Hadrian had become acquainted with the char- 



called, that of Constantinople: " Allata est in medium quaestio de nova Grao- 
corum synodo, quam do adorandis imaginibus Constantinopoli fecerunt, in qua 
Bcriptum liabebatur, ut qui imagiuibus Sanctorum, ita ut Ceiflcae Trinitati, ssr- 
vitiiim aut adorationcm non impenderent, anathema judicarentur. Qui supra 
sanctissimi Patres nostri adorationem et scrvitium renuentes contempserunt, 
atque eonsentiontes condemnaverunt." 

■ The following passage in the Libri Carolini deserves special attention : 
" Permittimus imagines Sanctorum, quicunquo oas formaro voluerint, tarn in 
ccclesia quam extra ccclesiam propter amorcm Dei ct Sanctorum ejus; adorare 
vero oas nequaquam cogimus, qui noluerint." It will be noted that it is hero 
implied that the ISTicene Council wished to force (cogimus) persons to adore 
images, whereas, in matter of fact, it did the exact contrary. The canon then 
goes on; "frangere vero vel destruere eas, etiamsi quis voluerit, non permitti- 
mus" (ad act. IV. sub fin.) 

For a complete proof of the blundering — nay, even of the dishonesty — of the 
authors of these Books, see Ilejele, Hist, of the Councils, Vol. III., p. 655-G73. 
Their animus is frequently so apparent, that, lilce many others before him, Floss, 
in his Programme, " De suspeeta librorum Carolin. a Joanne Tilio editorum fide," 
Bonnao, 1860, adduces a number of arguments to support the conjecture, that 
the Caroline Books were again tampered with, and interpolated by the fierce 
Iconoclasts of the sixteenth century. Compare, however. Dr. Nolie's review of 
this Programme, in the Vienna Journal of Catholic Literature, year 1861, u. 80. 



222 Period 2. Efoch 1. Part 1. Chapter 5. 

acter and contents of the Caroline Books, he composed and 
forwarded to the Emperor a calm and dignified refutation of 
them, in which, after reaffirming the teachings of Grerjorif 
the Great, he adds new arguments of his own to estahlish tho 
doctrine of tho veneration of iniages. 

The sophistical reasoning of Claudius, Bishop of Tnriu, 
and Afjobard, Archbishop of Lyons, was exposed and con- 
fnted by Jonas, Bishop of Orleans,' but still more ably by 
Dungal, an Irish monk of St. Denys. 

Some time subsequently, Walafried Strabo and Hincmar, 
Archbishop of E,heims, triumphantly asserted and vindicated 
the true doctrine relative to the veneration of images by 
showing the futility of the objections urged al^aiust the 
Council of ISTice. 



' Jonae de cultu imaginum, libb. III. (max. bibl., T. XIV., p. 1G7, and bibL 
Patrum Colon., T. IX., Pt. I., p. 90 sq.) Agohard: lib. ctr. oorura supcrsti- 
tioncm, qui picturis ot imaginibus Sanctor. obsoquium defcrcndiim putant. 
(0pp. cd. Massoii., Par. 1005; castigatus a Stoph. Balia., Par. ICCO, 2 vols.; 
Galland. bibl., T. XIII.) 



PART SECOND. 

HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FROM THE 
DEATH OF CHARLEMAGNE TO THE PONTIFI- 
CATE OF GREGORY VII., 1073. 

§ 178. Sov.rces. Works. 

Sources — I. Ada Concillor. in Mansi, Harduin, Ilar-Jieim ; besides, Binicrim, 
Philosophical Hist, of the German Councils, Vol. III. I-Iefelc, Hist, of Coun- 
cils, Vol. IV. Annales Fuldenscs, 830-901 ; Bcrtiniani, 835-882; ncgino, Abbot 
of Priim (t915) Chronic. 870-907, contin. to 907 {complete in Pcriz, T. I.) Anna- 
lisia Saxo, 741-1139 (Eccardi corp. hist., T. I.) Flodoard, Canon of Eheiras 
(tOCC), Chronieon, 919-960 {du Chesnc, T. II., in Bouijuct-Dom Br;al, T. V.) 
iMitpraiid!, opisc. Cremon., Hist. ror. ab Europ. imperat. et rcgib. gestar., libri 
VI. (Muratorii, Scriptor. Ital., T. II., Pt. I., and Fcrir., T. III.; also published 
separately, Hanov., 1839.) V/iiUc/dnd, Monk of Corvey (t 1000), Annal. do reb. 
Saxon, gestis (Meibom., T. I., p. 028. Conf. Leibnitz, T. I., p. 201 ; Periz, T. III.) 
Ditmari, Episc. Mcrseb. (tl018), Chronieon, 870-1028, ed. Waffner. Norimb., 
1807, 4to; also in Leibnitz, T. II., and Pcrtz, T. IV. Ilei-manni Cotiiracti, Mo- 
nachi Augiens. (Ecichenau, tl054), Chronic, from Christ to 10-54 {Pistorius- 
Strave, T. I., witli the continuation by Bertholdiis of Reichcnau, and by Bcrnoldus 
of St. Blasius, in Ussermann, Monumenta res Aleman. illustrant., T. I., and in 
Pertz, T. VII.) Lamberii Hersfcldensis, Chronic, until 1077, transl. by Buch- 
holz, Frkft. 1819 (in Pertz, T. VII., and in a separate edition). Mariani Scott, 
Monachi Fuldens., Chronica down to 1083, and Siijebertus Gcmblaeens., Chronic, 
down to 1112 (in Periz, T. VII. and VIII.) Conf. '> Waiienhaeh, Germany's 
Sources of History. 

II. For the Greek Church. The Byzantines : Consiantinus Porphyrogennetes 
(t959) to 886; Jos. Genesius (about 940) from 813-867; Georgius, Monachus, to 
959; Simeon Loffotheia, to d07; Leo Grammaiicus, to WIS; Georg. Ccdreyius uiado 
an extract therefrom, to 1057; Jo. Zonaras, to 1118. (See the editions of the 
Byzantines, in our Vol. I., p. 43, n. 1.) 

WoKKs: Baronii Annal. Fleury, Natalis Alex., Stolberg-Kcrz, Vol. 26-36. 
Bamberger, Synchronist. Hist., Vol. 3-0. Hoc/,; Gerhcri, or Pope Sylvester II., 
and HSflcr, The German Popes; Weiss, Hist, of Alfred the Great, Schaffhaa^on, 
1852; Vogel, Piatherius of Verona, Jena, 1854, shed much light on the tenth and 
elcvuntli centuries, so little studied, and so very much misunderstood. For fur- 
ther literature, see above, p. 12, especially the Hist, of Home, by Fapencordt, 

Gregoro)>iits, and Remnont. 

(223) 



224 Period 2. IJpoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 1. 



CHAPTER I. 

raOORESS of CHEISTIANITT among the GEKMANS — CONVERSION 
OF SLAVIC NATIONS. 

§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 

I. Adam. Brem. Hist, eoclesiast., libri IV., from Charlemagne to 1076, ed. 
I'dhriclus, Hamb. 1706, transl. into German, with notes, by Carsten Miser/aes, 
Bremen, 1825. Ejusdem de situ Daniae et reliquarum, quae trans Daniam sunt, 
I'egionura natura, morib. ot relig. cd. Fabricius, Hamb. 1700 fol. Bemberit, vita 
St. Anscharii [Periz, Monum., T. II., Bolland. ad I. m. Pebr.); German, with 
notes, by Carsten Misegaes, Bremen, 1826, by Drewes, Paderborn, 1864. An- 
clcarii St. pigments : St. Anscharius' prayers accompanying the psalms, com- 
municated by Lappenberg, Hamb. 1844. Saxonis GrammaUct Hist. Danioa, ed. 
Klotz, Lps. 1771, 4to. 

II. MUnter, Ch. H. of Denmark and Norway, Vol. I., p. 260 sq. Karvp, Hist, 
of the Oath. Church in Denmark, transl. fr. the Danish into German, Munster, 
1803, p. 1-58. Biographies of Ansrjar, according to Eembertus, by Krummaeher, 
Bremen, 1828 ; by Reuierdald, transl. fr. the Swedish into Gorman by Mayerhoff, 
Berlin, 1837 ; by Kraft, narratio de Ansehario, Aquilonar. gentium Apostolo, 
Hamb. 1840; by Klippel, Bremen, 1844. . Bohrlngcr, Ch. H. in Biographies, Vol. 
II., Divis. 1, p. 170-228. '■■'Daniel, St. Ansgar, the Ideal of an Apostolic Mes- 
senger [TheoL Controversies, Halle, 1843); by t^'f/'/'e/iorn, Mimster, 1862. Conf. 
Gfrorer, Universal Ch. H., Vol. III., p. 797 sq. DahlTnami, Hist, of Donmarlc, 
Hamb. 1840 eq., 3 vols., whose chronological dates have been generally adopted, 

Christianity had been preached to the Saxons during the 
reign of Charlemagne, and a bishopric had been established 
at Bremen. The tree of faith thus planted on German soil 
^ grew up and flourished till its wide-spread and life-giving 
branches east their shadow upon the neighboring country of 
Scandinavia. 

The Danish king Harold, having been expelled from his 
own country, sought an asylum at the court of Louis the 
Mild; and in the year 822, the latter sent an embassy into 
Denmark to compose the difficulty between the King and the 
other claimants to the throne. But the embassadors had, 
besides their political mission, another of quite a different 
character. They were charged with making arrangement for 
the establishment of a Christian mission in this Pagan' land. 
Hence the Council of Attigny, with the consent of Pope Pas- 



§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 225 

cal I., sent thither, as missionaries, Ebbo, Archbishop of 
Eheims, and the monk Halitgar, who, it would seem, lacked 
the courage and perseverance necessary to contend success- 
fully against the difficulties which at every step beset apos- 
tles. 

In the year 826, Harold was again driven from his king- 
dom, and sought refuge with the Emperor at Metz, where he, 
his wife, and a numerous retinue received baptism. He now 
conceived the design of giving security and stability to his 
throne by converting his subjects to the Christian religion. 
But to undertake a task of such magnitude and difficulty 
with any hope of success required a missionary of no ordi- 
nary gifts, and such was found in the person of Anschar, or 
Ansgar, a pious and learned monk of Corbie, in the diocese of 
Amiens, in France — a man who equaled St. Boniface in active 
zeal and untiring energy. 

ANSGAR, THE APOSTLE OP THE NORTH 

Ansgar was born not far from Corbie, in the diocese of 
Amiens, a. d. 801. From his earliest youth, he had been re- 
ligiously inclined, and, after he had grown up, was placed by 
his parents with the monks of the monastery of Corbie. He 
was the favorite pupil of Paschasius Radbert, one of the 
most learned men of his age, and afterward became his as- 
sistant. In the year 822, he was removed to a monastery 
founded not far from Hoxter, on the Weser, and which from 
the parent house received the name of Corvey. He here un- 
dertook the direction of the monastic school, and preached 
to the people of the surrounding country. 

Ansgar had many visions, in one of which his future des- 
tiny was made known to him. Transported to the abode of 
the saints, a heavenly voice said to him : " Descend to earth, 
and again return hither crowned with martyrdom." Accom- 
panied by King Plarold and one monk, Autbert by name, who 
alone, of all the monks of the monastery, volunteered to 
share with him the perils and labors of the new mission, he 
set out for Denmark, a. d. 827. His first care was to estab- 
lish a school at Hadeby for the education of ransomed Pagan 
VOL. II — 15 



226 Penod 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

slaves, who lie intended should be the future missionaries of 
their country. 

Harold, who had rendered himself obnoxious to his nation 
by embracing Christianity, was again expelled the country 
(a. d. 828), and his expulsion extinguished, for the time being, 
all hope of converting the people to the Christian faith, 
i But if one field of labor was thus closed against Ansgar, 
another was opened to him. An embassy which had been 
sent into Sweden by the emperor Louis, in the year 829, in- 
formed him, on their return, that there were many Christians 
in that countr}" desirous of being better informed as to their 
religion, and of obtaining priests to minister to them. Aut- 
bert, the companion of Ansgar, on his former mission, was 
compelled by sickness to return to Corvey, where he shortly 
died. 

Witmar, also a monk of Corvey, accompanied Ansgar on 
his second mission, and the two, embarking on a trading ves- 
sel, set out for Sweden, a. d. 829, taking with them many 
costly presents for the Swedish king Olaf, and a letter of 
recommendation, in which Ansgar is described by Louis as 
" the best and most faithful man he had ever known." Hav- 
ing obtained permission from the King to preach the Gospel 
and baptize such as were willing to embrace Christianity, 
Ansgar continued his labors for a year and a half, amid the 
most disheartening difficulties, and, at the close of that 
period, had the gratification of seeing his efforts crowned with 
unhoped-for success. He bad converted many of the inhabit- 
ants, and among them some of rank and importance, and 
had erected numerous churches. The favorable report which 
he brought back, of the prospects of Christianity in Sweden, 
induced the emperor Louis to carry into effect a noble and 
pious project of his father, Charlemagne. With the permis- 
sion and by the authoritj' of Pope Gregory TV., he founded 
the archbishopric of Hamburg (a. d. 831), whidi he intended 
to serve as a center of operations for the missions of tlie 
Xorth, and had Ansgar, though only in his twenty-ninth 
year, consecrated its first archbishop. He was also created 
Papal Legate for the countries of Denmark, Sweden, and 
Xorway (a. d. 834). 



§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 227 

Owing to the increasing complications of the Frankish 
Empire, the efforts of Ansgar to propagate the Christian re- 
ligion in Denmark, whose king, Horic, was very hostile to 
any snch enterprise, met with but trifling success. In the 
year 845, Horic, at the head of a I^forman army, attacked 
and pillaged the city of Hamburg, laid the country waste 
with fire and sword, and scattered the little flock, some of 
whom were slain, and nearly all the others led away into 
captivity. It was only with considerable difficulty that Ans- 
gar succeeded in saving his life and his relics. He now took 
refuge in the monastery of Turholt, in Flanders, which had 
been assigned to him by the Emperor, as a source of revenue 
for his support, on taking the see of Hamburg. But he soon 
lost even this. After the treaty of Verdun, Turholt became 
the property of Charles the Bald, who disposed of it to one 
of his courtiers. The condition of things was somewhat im- 
proved, when, in the year 849, Pope Nicholas I., at the re- 
quest of King Louis the German, united the two sees of Bre- 
men and Hamburg into one archbishopric, over which Ansgar 
was set. Gunther, Archbishop of Cologne, under whose juris- 
diction the diocese of Bremen had formerly been, consented 
to this arrangement, and yielded all his former rights.^ From 
this time forward, Ansgar labored indefatigably for the con- 
version of Denmark and Sweden. By his address he ob- 
tained the permission oi Horic, the Pagan king of Denmark, 
to preach the Gospel and build churches. 

In the year 853, inspired with the zeal of an apostle, Ans- 
gar again visited Sweden, where the mission which he had 
established in 829 had been destroyed daring a |3opnlar tu- 
mult. B[is new efforts met with a protracted opposition, and 
were not received with favor by King Olaf till a fortunate 
cast of lots had reassured the royal mind that the preachinfj 
of the Gospel might be permitted without detriment to the 
State. To give security and permanence to his labors, Ans- 
gar established a new mission. He spent the closing days of 
his life, as he had those of his youth, in laborious missionar^^ 

' D'Aix, de Ecclesiae metropolitanae Coloniensis in Bremenscm olim suffragiv- 
neam jure metropolitano primitivo, Bonnae, 1792. 



228 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2.' Chu'pter 1. 

work — sometimes in his own archdiocese, but principally in 
eflorts to convert the Danes ; and, whether at home or abroad, 
always subject to the same trials and enduring the same hard- 
ships and privations which had been his portion from his 
early years. He wore a shirt of hair-cloth, earned his living 
by the toil of his hands, and, by close economy and self- 
sacrifice, managed to lay by something for the support of his 
missionary priests and for the. purchase of costly presents for 
Pagan princes whose minds it was necessary to soften and 
conciliate. After having spent above thirty-four years in 
laboring for the conversion of the Danes and Swedes, and, 
when in the sixty-fifth year of his age, he was prostrated bj 
a violent fever for four months, during which time he con- 
tinued cheerful and serene. He had, in his youth, longed to 
die the death of a martyr,^ but this blessing was not granted 
him. Having received Holy Communion, he repeated, as 
long as he could speak, the words, " Lord, be merciful to me, 
a sinner ; into Thy hands I commend my spirit;" and died, on 
the day revealed to him in a vision, viz., the day after the 
feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Feb- 
ruary 3, A. D. 865.^ 

Sembert, the disciple and successor of Ansgar, inherited the 
apostolic spirit of his master. The Church of Denmark was 
again oppressed by cruel persecutions during the reign of 
Gorm, the Old, king of Lithra, in Zealand, who, in the year 
900, became chief of all the Danish tribes ; and Hamburg 
was again taken and destroyed. But, in the year 934, the 
German emperor, Henry I., compelled Gorm to cease perse- 
cuting the Christians ; and f7nTO,who had been Archbishop of 
Hamburg and Bremen since 918, availing himself of this favor- 
able condition of affairs, made a missionary tour to the Xorth, 
and succeeded in obtaining from the old king the largest tol- 
eration for himself and for the Gospel which he preached. 

> Neander, Memorabilia, III. 2, p. 125 sq. StoVberg-Kerz, Pt. 26, p. 344-419. 

^ AnBgar also left beiiind him some j«ri&» documents — a diarium, containiug 
the history of his mission, which was (a. d. 12G1) sent to Eome by Abbot Tijmo, 
but is now missing; moreover, the "pigmenia" adduced above, and the vitaS^ 
Willehadl, the preface of which might well be placed before every life of the 
Saints. 



§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 229 

Harold, surnamed Blaatand (Blue Tooth), the son of Gorm, 
who reigned for fifty years (a. d. 936-986), had ah-eady been 
drawn to the Christian faith by the teachings of his mother, 
Thyra, the daughter of the first Christian Harold, but did not 
receive baptism until after the disastrous issue of a war with 
the emperor Otho I. (c. a. d. 965.) An ancient tradition 
widely difl^used among those Northern people, and which 
seems to he based on truth, states that Harold was brought 
to the determination of receiving baptism through the instru- 
mentality of a certain priest, Foppo by name, a missionary 
who had come into Denmark from North Friesland. One 
day, when Poppo was present at a royal banquet, the conver- 
sation chanced to turn upon the respective merits of the two 
religions. The missionary characterized the heathen divini- 
ties as evil spirits, and, upon being asked by the King to 
prove the truth of his assertion by miracle, willingly as- 
sented, saying that he would demonstrate, by ordeal, that 
Christ was God, and thereupon taking up a piece of glowing 
iron, carried it some distance without scorching his hands.^ 

The religious zeal of Harold soon excited against him the 
enmity of his Pagan subjects, and brought about his dethrone- 
ment. His son, Svend (a. d. 986-1014), favored the Pagan 
party, which had placed him on the throne, and threatened 
to' destroy the bishoprics of Odensee and Roskild; but, after 
returning from his conquest of England, he became more 
temperate in his opposition to Christianity in Denmark. His 
son Canute the Great (Knud) (a. d. 1014-1030), who had been 
brought up under Christian influences in England, acting 
from a motive of duty and at the instance of his consort, the 
English princess Emma, established Christianity upon a per- 
manent basis in his native land, and was himself drawn more 
closely to the center of unity by a visit which he made to 
Eome in the year 1026.^ 

^Adam. Brem. Hist. Eccl., II. 36. Conf. Gfrorer, Univ. Ch. H., Vol. III., p. 
1291 sq. 

2.%,-Eo GrammaUcus (Provost of Eoskild? t about 1204) hist., libb. XVI., ed. 
Stephaniua. Sor. 1644, 2 T. fol., ed. Klotz. Hal. 1771. Pantoppidan. annal. eccl. 
Dan. diplomatici, Hafn. 1741 sq., T. I. Miinter, 1. 1. Vol. I., p. 214 sq. Dahl- 
mann. Vol. I., p. 99-112. 



230 Period 2. E'poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

The conversion of this people, which was as yet only par- 
tial and lacking in thoroughness, was much improved by the 
influence of the new bishoprics of Lund, in Schonen, of Borg- 
lum, and of Viborg, in Jutland, established during the reign of 
Svend Estrithson, who died a. d. 1076. Paganism, however, 
was not at once abolished. Traces of it still survived, and 
continued to infect the manners of the people and to delile 
the whiteness of their baptismal robes. 

Moreover, Knud, surnamed the Holy,''- prompted doubtless 
by a holy but misguided zeal, collected the tithes with such 
rigorous exactness, that the people rose against him and put 
him to death, July 10, A. d. 1086. Urban II., at the request 
of King Eric, raised Lund to the dignity of a metropolitan 
see, to which the dioceses of both Denmark and Sweden were 
made sufiragan, and those of the latter country continued so 
until it had obtained a metropolitan of its own. 

The seed of faith, which had been sown in Sweden by Ans- 
gar, flourished, came to fullness of growth, and was now 
ready to be garnered into the storehouse of the Lord. Arch- 
bishop Unni, quitting his see of Hamburg, passed into Swe- 
den, where he labored during a year in consolidating the 
institutions of the Church, and, when about to return, died 
at Birka (c. a. d. 940). His successors in the see of Hamburg 
were equally zealous and energetic in prosecuting the same 
work, and sent many missionaries into that country, by whose 
labors those simple and vivacious sons of nature were attracted 
to Christianity, and their first king, Olaf Skotkonung, drawn 
into the fold of the one Pastor (a. d. 1008). The first bish- 
opric was established at Skara, in "West Gothland. King Jn(jre 
(a. d. 1075) destroyed the last remnants of heathenism.^ King 
Swerker (a. d. 1133-1155) set to work to promote the progress 
of the Church in a more Christian temper of mind. He in- 
vited the monks of St. Bernard into the country, founded 
monasteries for them, and had the gratification of seeing 
those noble sons of the Church achieve among his subjects 



> Conf. Dahlmann, Vol. I., p. 185-203. 

2 Claudius Oernhjalm, Hist. Sueoorum Gothorumque eccl., libb. IV.. Stock- 
holm, 1689, 4to. R&hs, Hist, of the Swedes, Halle, 1803, 6 pts. 



§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 231 

the splendid successes which had followed upon their labors 
in other lands. The bishopric of Upsal, which was estab- 
lished during the reign of St. Eric (a. d. 1155-1160), was 
intrusted to Henry, the Apostle of Finland. In the last- 
named country, the bishopric of Bandamecki had already been 
long established, but was transferred in 1200 to Abo. 

Pope Alexander III. made Upsal the metropolitan see of 
Sweden in 1163, with Skara, Linkoping, Strengnds, Westerds, 
and, at a later period, Wexio and Abo, as suffragan bish- 
oprics. 

It was during their hostile incursions^ into other lands, that 
the JSTorwegians (N^orwayans) obtained their first knowledge 
of Christianity. During the tenth century, several of the 
ITorwegian kings made efforts to introduce it among their 
subjects. Harold Haarfagr,^ or Harold of the Fair Hair, hav- 
ing made himself master of Sweden, over which he exercised 
a sort of suzerainty, took an oath in an assembly of the peo- 
ple to sacrifice only to the God of the Christians. His son 
Hacon the Good (a. d. 936 until about 951), who had been 
baptized, and received a Christian education in England, at 
the court of King Athelstau, returned to ITorway while still 
a young man, and full ot zeal for the spread of Christianity. 
For a time he practiced his devotions in secret, but having 
gained over to his side a number of the most influential of 
his subjects, he felt himself suflSiciently secure to propose, be- 
fore an assembly of the people, that the whole nation, without 
distinction of rank, age, or sex, should embrace the Christian 
religion. Their answer was prompt and decisive: "How," 
said they, " can a strange God put any trust in us, if we thus 
easily relinquish our fealty to the old ones?" The indigna- 
tion of the people against Hacon for having given up the 
belief of his ancestors, was so great that he gi'adually yielded 
to their demands, till finally his religious practice consisted 
of a mixture of heathen ceremonies and Christian rites. 
When dying of a wound received in battle (c. a. d. 960), the 
grief he felt for having denied his faith weighed so heavily 
upon his conscience that he declared, should he recover, he 



1 Dahlmann, Vol. II., p. 91-97. 



232 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 2. Cha-pter 1. 

would resign his kingdom, retire to a monastery, and pass 
the remainder of his daj's in works of penance. The cour- 
age displayed by Harold in battle, and the fact that he had 
lost his life in fighting for his country, produced a reaction in 
favor of the religion which he had professed and loved so 
dearly. Moreover, the people felt that as he had participated 
in their rites, they should treat his belief with toleration, if 
not with favor. Hence they were, in a measure, favorably 
disposed toward Christianity when Harold Blaatand, King of 
Denmark, having obtained possession of Norway by treach- 
ery, attempted to introduce it into the country (c. a. d. 960). 
But the powerful IsTorwegian, Yarl Hacon, by whose assist- 
ance Harold had obtained possession of Norway, and whom 
he had appointed Stadtholder, more intent on forwarding his 
own interests than on serving those of his master, sought to 
secure his own independence, and recommend himself to the 
favor of his countrymen by destroying all the Christian estab- 
lishments which had been set up during the Danish domina- 
tion. Hacon, having shortly rendered himself odious to the 
people by acts of oppression, was put aside to make room for 
Olaf Trygvesen (a. d. 996-1000), a ISTorwegian general, who 
had traveled in many lands, and gained a knowledge of Chris- 
tianity, which he embraced, and was baptized at the Scilly 
Isles, off the southwest coast of England. Olaf had fallen in 
with a Saxon priest, by name Thangbrand, whom he brought 
with him when returning to his own country, and the two set 
to work to introduce Christianity by force. The king went 
about overturning idols, destroying Pagan temples, impor- 
tuning some and compelling others to receive baptism, and 
declaring to all that the only purpose of eai'thly kingdoms is 
to form citizens for the kingdom of heaven. His reign came 
to a close in a war against the united powers of Denmark 
iinrl Sweden, in which he was defeated, and was obliged to 
leup into/the sea to escape the fury of his pursuers. 

Those who held the government after him, being but lieu- 
tenants of the kings of Denmark and Sweden, took little or 
no interest in religious affairs. When, however, St. Olaf be- 
came king of Norway (a. d. 1019), he at once set about estab- 
lishing the Church upon a firm basis. He at first experienced 



§ 179. Christianity in Scandinavia. 233 

much opposition, but being ably seconded in his work by the 
labors of some English and German missionaries, his efforts 
were finally crowned with success. He built the magnificent 
church of St. Clement, at Nidaros (Drontheim),the most splen- 
did specimen of architecture in the l*J"orth; made his subjects 
take an oath to observe a code of Christian laws, drawn up 
by Bishop Grinckel and the priests residing at his own court ; 
established schools all over his kingdom ; destroyed the colos- 
sal wooden figure of the god Thor; organized a crusade, into 
which he admitted none but Christians, against Canute the 
Great,^ King of Denmark and England; and fell mortally, 
wounded, fighting against his heathen subjects, who had allied 
themselves with the Danes (July 29, a. d. 1080). His tomb 
at ISTidaros was soon frequented by many pious Christians, by 
whom he was honored as a Martyr. The veneration in which 
his memory was universally held, produced a reaction of pub- 
lic sentiment in favor of Christianity. In the year 1148, ITida- 
ros was raised to the rank of an archbishopric, and the sees 
of Bergen, Hammer, and Stavanger made its sufi'ragans. 

Such of the Scandinavians as had quitted their native coun- 
try and settled among Christians, were, as a rule, quite will- 
ing to embrace the faith of Christ. They were no longer 
infiuenced by ancient traditions, which gradually lost their 
hold upon their minds, as distance, time, and new" surround- 
ings weakened old beliefs* and prejudices, and familiarized 
new rules of conduct and modes of thought. Thus, for ex- 
ample, the N"ormans who founded the Eastmannic kingdom 
of Dublin, in 948, were shortly afterward converted to Chris- 
tianity. So also Rollo, the powerful ISTorman sea-king, who 
had been the terror of France for above a quarter of a cen- 
tury, pledged himself by the treaty of Epte (a. d. 912) to 
become a Christian, and, in return, obtained as a fief that 
portion of northwestern Erance lying between the Epte and 
the sea, to which the name of ]N"ormandy was afterward given. 
Rollo, at his baptism, took the name of Robert. He wore his 
baptismal robes for seven days, on each of which he bestowed 
rich donations on churches. Under his rule, this portion of 

^Dahlmann, Vol. II., p. 122-129. Conf. Vol. I., p. 112. 



234 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

J^rance flourished and prospered. Old and ruined churches 
were repaired and restored, new ones built, cloisters erected, 
and on all sides might be seen evidences of peace and con- 
tentment. France had then no fairer province than ]S"or- 
mand3^ 

Iceland,^ that bleak and barren island of the North, was 
discovered by the Norwegians, in the year 861. Colonists 
settled there in 870, and founded a free state, which soon be- 
came the seat and center of the culture and literature of the 
Northern Germans. The Gospel was preached to the inhab- 
itants (a. d. 981) by Frederic, a Saxon priest, but with little 
or no success. Olof Trygvesen, King of Norway, also took 
a warm interest in the conversion of the Icelanders, and sent 
to them the missionaries Stefner, himself an Icelander, Thang- 
hrand, a Saxon, and many others. These zealous men an- 
nounced to the people of Iceland the glad tidings of the 
Gospel, and labored earnestly for their conversion. The 
number of Christians was gradually increased by migrations 
from Norwaj', and in the year 1000, at the proposal of Lag- 
mann Thorgeir, a Pagan priest, who dreaded a civil war, if 
the people should be divided into two opposing parties, 
Christianity was formally introduced under the following 
conditions: 1. That all the inhabitants of the island should 
receive baptism and profess the Christian religion; 2. That 
all temples containing idols, and all images exposed to public 
view, should be destroyed ; 3. That any one publicly sacri- 
ficing to idols or performing other heathen rites should be 
banished ; 4. That, owing to the barrenness of the island and 
the great number of its inhabitants, it should be permitted 
to expose infants and eat horse-flesh ; and, 5. That it should 
be permitted to practice heathen rites in private. 

It took time, patience, and prudence to entirely extinguish 
Paganism in the island, but it gradually yielded to the sub- 
duing influence of Christianity. English, Irish, and Saxon 
priests, and even bishops, labored zealously to firmly estab- 
lish the Church. In the year 1056, Adalbert, Archbishop of 

^ Finnt Johannaei hist. eccl. Islandiae, Hafn. 1772 sq., 4 T. fol. Munier, Vol. 
I., p. 619 sq. Dahlmann, Vol. II., p. 106-122. 



§ 180. The Slavonians and Their Mythology. 235 

Bremen, consecrated Isleif first Bishop of Skalholt. He died, 
A. D. 1080, in the odor of sanctity. A second bishopric was 
established at Horlum, in 1107, and, from this time forward, 
Iceland could boast some authors of name and merit, such as 
Snorro Sturleson, who is well known, both for his capacity as 
a statesman and as the father of ISTorthern history.' 

The Faroes, the Orcades, and the Shetland islands are in- 
debted to the zeal of Olaf Trygvesen for their knowledge of 
Christianity. A bishopric was established in the Faroes in 
1150, of which Matthias (f a. d. 1157) was the first incumbent. 
The Icelanders discovered Greenland in 982, and converted 
its inhabitants to Christianity about the year 1000. It is said 
that the first bishop of Greenland went thither from Bremen, 
and succeeding ones from 'Sov\^&y? The see was established 
at Gardar. 

The conversion of the Northern tribes was an event of the 
most vital importance to the progress and civilization of 
Europe f for, as long as these fierce and warlike seamen in- 
habited or skirted her coasts, her advancement and develop- 
ment were impossible. 

§ 180. The Slavonians and Their Mythology. 

Mone, Hist, of Paganism in Northern Europe, Vol. I., p. Ill sq. ITanusch, 
Doctrine of Slavonic Mythology in its widest acceptation, comprising also 
ancient Prussian and Lithuanian myths, Lemberg, 1842. Schaffarik, Hist, of 
the Slavic Language and Literature, Buda (Ofen), 1826 ; the same, Origin of tie 
Slaves, Buda, 1828. Joh. Lasicki, de diis Samogitar,, Basil. 1615; idein, de Kus- 
sorum, Musoovitarum, etc., religione, Spirae, 1582. Frencel, de diis Sorabor. et 
alior. Slavor. (Hoffmann, seriptor. rer. Lusat., T. II.) Naruszewicz, historya 
narodu polskiego., T. II. (only nomenclature of Slavic gods"). Narbut, dziejo 
starozytne (on Lituania), Wilno, 4 T. Rettberg, Ch. H. of Germany, Vol. II., 
p. 545 sq. Mickieioicz's Lectures on the Slavic Literature, 4 vols., Lps. 1849. 

Among those nations which came prominently forward dur- 
ing the Middle Ages, the Slavonians are, in numbers and im- 



^ Snorro Sturleson (tl241) Heimskringla, ed. Schoeninr/, Hafn. 1777 sq., 5 T. 
fol.; transl. into German, by Mohnike, Stralsund, 1885, nro. I., by Waehter, Lps. 
1835 sq., Vols. I., II. Conf. Dahlmann, Vol. II., p. 77 sq. Gfrorer, Pope 
Gregory VII., Vol. II., p. 529 sq. 

^ Torfaei Groenland. antiqua, Hafn. 1 706. MUnter, Vol. I., p. 555 sq. 

' Adam. Bremens., de situ Dan., c. 96. 



236 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

portanee, second only to the Germans. They occupied that 
tract of country lying between the river Saale and the Ural 
Mountains, and between the Baltic and the Adriatic Seaa. 
Their early history is but little known, being derived, for the 
most part, from legends of a later date, which are not unfre- 
quently disfigured by the hostile representations of the Ger- 
mans. They produced no native poet to transmit to future 
generations in popular song an account of their origin and 
early histoiy; neither were they fortunate enough to bave 
their chai'acter, manners, and customs described by another 
Tacitus. 

Slav (their real name being Slowene or Slowane), the gen- 
eric and distinctive appellation of this people, has, from the 
seventh century onward, been variously derived from slawa 
(fame), slowez (man or mankind), and perhaps more correctly 
frDm slowo (a word, whence Slovanians and Slavences), mean- 
ing "speaking" or "articulate," and hence a confederation 
embracin.g only nations of one tongue. This derivation is sup- 
ported by the fact that Slavonic tribes call such as do not be- 
long to them Niemetz, or Mutes (in Polish, ISTimiec) — a term in 
general use among all Slavonians, and implying that those 
designated by it do not enjoy community of language. 

The Slavonians first became known in history by their con- 
flicts with the Germans; but, even at this early period, they 
had ceased to be distinguished for sterling independence and 
nobility of character.* Of large and compact frame and 
well-formed head, they seemed incapable of fatigue and in- 
sensible to pain. Being by nature courageous and active, 
they opened an attack with gallantry and conducted it with 
skill. They were, in social life, frugal, good-natured, and 
hospitable; were uniformly cheerful, and gifted with an inex- 
haustible fund of gaiety, which, at their popular feasts, rose 
to hilarity and boisterousness. Their popular songs, which 
were numerous, were, at times, spirited and cheerful, and 
again, tender and mournful. Accustomed to live under 
Asiatic despots and tyrants, they were fully imbued with the 

^Hefftner, The struggle of the Germans and Slavonians for the possession 
of a great part of the world, Hamburg, 1847. 



§ 180. The Slavonians and Their Mythology. 237 

spirit of passive obedience ; but what was still more astonish- 
ing was the wonderful capacity they possessed of adopting 
the manners and acquiring the language of any people among 
whom they chanced to live. 

Unlike the Germans, the Slavonians did not regard their 
■women as companions and equals; but, like all Asiatic peo- 
ples, treated them with contempt, and looked upon their 
wives as no better than their slaves. Mothers were allowed 
to destroy their female infants immediately after birth; and 
a wife was frequently obliged to share the fate of her hus- 
band, and to cast herself into the fire that consumed his body. 

As there was a community of language, so was there also 
one of religious belief among all the branches of the Slavonic; 
family. It is probable that their religion consisted, at first, 
like that of the Germans, of a pure worship of nature; but 
it was not long before they acknowledged an extravagant 
number of deities which Christian annalists have designated 
by Roman names. 

They appear to have had only a vague idea of a " Being 
Supreme and Eternal," from whom, as was natural with a 
people of corrupt and unchastened imaginations, they derived, 
through Bielobog and Czernobog, the Black God and the White, 
a numerous progeny of inferior divinities belonging to either 
class, in which, as has been demonstrated by ITanush in his 
Slavic Mythology, it is easy to discover the prominent fea- 
tures of Persian Dualism. There was a community of re- 
ligious worship, not only in each of the several branches of 
the Slavonic family, but even among those nations which 
were under difl^erent and distinct governments. There were 
sanctuaries at which all worshiped, and which served as a 
bond of union among tribes having no political connection. 
Such were the temple at Arcona, on the island of Eiigen, 
where Swantewits, the four-headed idol, was adored ; that at 
Rhetra, and others. It is said that the chief-priest of 'Sc\\- 
gorod maintained an intercourse with the priests of Courlaiid 
and Semgallia. Among the more popular shrines were those 
oi Ferun, at Kiew and IJowgorod, who was honored among 
the Russians and Moravians as the God of Thunder; that of 
Swantewit, at Arcona ; that of Radegast, the God of Friend- 



238 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. CAapfer 1. 

ship, at Rhetra; that of Shiva, the Goddess of Life; and that 
of Lado, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. 

Besides the universally honored gods and goddesses, the 
Poles had a great number of local divinities. A belief in 
ghosts was general and deep-seated. The elements, and every 
ibrm and aspect of nature, were regarded as the manifesta- 
tions and abodes of an equal number of inferior divinities, 
of good and evil genii. These were honored in the gloom of 
sacred groves and on the banks of rivers, but were not at first 
represented under any sensible form. The images of the 
gods, which were introduced at a later date, were entirely 
destitute of all artistic merit, frequently having many heads 
and m&nj faces. Thus the statues of Triglaw, at Stettin and 
at Julin, had each three heads, and that of Swantewit, at 
Arcona, four. Human beings were not unfrequently sacrificed 
tO' render the gods propitious. The priests who participated iu 
this sacrificial worshi]3 were highly honored and very influ- 
ential. They made their influence felt in the family and in 
nearly every department of social life. On every Monday, the 
day consecrated to Prowe, the Goddess of Justice, they held 
court and adjusted difficulties. This circumstance will, in a 
measure, account for the high honor in which the Christian 
priests were afterward held among the Slavonians, the vast in- 
fluence which they acquired, aud the title of Prince (Knez, 
Xiadz), by which they were known. Hence the title still in 
use, Xiadz Bisup, Xiadz Proboszez — i. e.. Prince Bishop, Prince 
Parish-priest — the title being usually indicated by X prefixed. 

The Slavonians believed that the future life would be no 
more than a continuation of the present one. 

§ 181. Conversion of Some of the Slavonic Nations. 

Wittichindus, Diimarus Merseb., Adam. Bremens., at head of § 178. Selmoldi 
(Presbyter at Bosow, tll70), chronica Slavor., ed. Bangert., Lub. 1659, 410; in 
Leibn. script. Bruns., T. II._ p. 537 ; also in '-Periz, T. XXI. Assemanni, Kalen- 
doria ocolos. univ., Eom. 1755, 4to, T. I.-V. Fabricii salutaris lux evangelii, etc. 
Wegierski, Systoma historico-chronologicum ecolesiarum slavonioarum per pro- 
vincias varias, praecipue Poloniao, Bohomiae, Lithuaniae, Russiae, Prussiae, 
iioraviae, etc., distinotarum VIII., libb. IV. continens historiam eccles. a. Chr. 
ad a. 1650, Trajecti, 1652, 4to. Important: Epistola Episcopor. Germaniae ad 
.Joan, papain VIII. de Slavis ad fidem christ. conversis et eorum archiepiscopo 



§ 181. Conversion of Some of the Slavonic Nations. 239 

et episcopis (Mansi, T. XVII., p. 253 sq. liarduin, T. VI., P. I., p. 126 sq.) 
Conf. GfrSrer, Univ. Ch. H., Vol. III., p. 1276 sq. For details on particular 
bishoprics, see the Freiburg Eccl. Cyclopaedia, under the respective denominiir 
tions. 

The Croatians (Crowatians) were the first of the Slavonic 
nations to embrace Christianity. In the reign of Heraciius, 
they emigrated from Southern Russia and settled on that 
tract of land included between the Adriatic Sea and the 
Danube and Save rivers. Their prince, Porga, requested 
Constantine Pogonatus, to send him Christian missionai-ies. 
Constantine referred him to Rome, whence a number of mis- 
sionaries were obtained, who, in the year 670, baptized the 
prince and many of his people. The Pope then took this 
country under his immediate protection, and obliged the in- 
habitants to give up their habits of plunder and predatory 
warfare. ISTo positive mention is made of Croatian bishops 
before the year 879. 

The Servians, who inhabited ancient Dacia, Dardania, and 
the sea-coast of Albania, were prevailed upon by the emperor 
Heraciius to receive baptism shortly after they had come 
into these countries. JBut, in the year 827, when they sev- 
ered their connection with the Greek Empire, they at the 
same time rejected Christianity, and remained separated 
until the year 868, when they submitted to the authority of 
the emperor Basil, and were again converted. 

The Carantani, who, during the first half of the seventh 
century, took up their abode in the Windish March, a tract 
of country including Carinthia, Carnia, and Styria, were con- 
verted to Christianity in, the course of the eighth century. 
Their conversion was due, in a great measure, to their inter- 
course with the city of Salzburg, and to their condition of 
dependence upon the Prankish Empire. Two of their princes, 
Carost and Chetumar, the former the son and the latter the 
nephew of their chieftain Boruth, had, with his consent, received 
a Christian education in Bavaria. Chetumar, having succeeded 
to the supreme power in 743, entered into an alliance with the 
Bavarians. At his request, Virgilius, Archbishop of Salzburg, 
sent Bishop Modestus and a number of priests to undertake 
the conversion of the Carinthians ; and in the year 800, Arno, 



240 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

his successor in the see of Salzburg, sent Bishop Dietrich to 
labor in this country and among the neighboring Slavonians. 

A controversy which broke out in 810 between Arno and 
Ursus, Patriarch of Aquileia, relative to the jurisdiction over 
Carinthia, was terminated by Charlemagne, who decided that 
the river Drave should form the boundary line of their re- 
spective dioceses. In the year 870, Carinthia, which had hith- 
erto been governed by regionary bishops or vicars, became 
subject to Adalwin, who then occupied the archiepiscopal see 
of Salzburg.^ 

The Moravians, a Slavonic people, who derived their name 
from that of the river called Morava, and inhabited the terri- 
tory of the ancient Quadi, which they took possession of in 
534, became acquainted with Christianity through means of 
the military expeditions undertaken by Charlemagne for pur- 
poses of conquest. At his request, Virgilius, Archbishop of 
Salzburg, and Urolf, Bishop of Passau, sent missionaries into 
Moravia in the beginning of the ninth century. Urolf for- 
warded an account of his labors to the Pope, who conferred 
upon him (a. d. 824) the restored archiepiscopal see of Laure- 
acum, with four suffragan bishoprics, two of which were in 
Moravia. But whether it was that the papal decree was never 
carried into effect, or that both the suffragan bishoprics and 
the metropolitan see soon became extinct, it is certain, that, 
after the death of Urolf, no further mention was made of 
Laureacum, and that the former jurisdiction of the see of 
Passau reverted to it. There were many obstacles to retard 
the conversion of the Moravians. They detested Germans 
and German domination; were ill-disposed toward the mis- 
sionaries because the latter were ignorant of the Slavic lan- 
guage; and objected to the use of the Latin tongue, with 
which they were wholly unacquainted, in public service. But 
the condition of affairs was changed by the arrival of Cyril 



^Anmiymi (priest of Salzburg at the end of the ninth century) de conver- 
aione Bojariorum et Careutanorum. {Oefele, Scriptor. rer. Boic, T. I., p. 280. 
Freher, Scriptor. rer. Bohemicar. and Hanslzii Germania sacra, T. II., p. 103 sq.) 
Conf. Kleinmayern, Accounts pf Juvavia. Salzburg, 1784 fol., Append., p. 10. 
Waiienbach, Contributions toward a Hist, of the Christian Church in Moravia 
and Bohemia, Vienna, 1849. Eeitberg, Vol. II., p. 557 sq. 



§ 181. Conversion of Some of the Slavonic Nations. 241 

(Constantine) and Methodius, the apostles of the Chazari and 
the Bulgarians, whom Wratislaw, a Moravian prince, had 
secured through the kind offices of the Greek emperor, Mi- 
chael. They arrived in Moravia in the year 863; baptized 
Frince Wratislaw and his nephew, Svatopluk; invented and 
brought into general use an alphabet of the Slavonic (Glago- 
litic) language; preached and held divine services in the 
ancient Slavonic tongue; and at the end of four and a half 
years were gratified to see their labors crowned with the most 
splendid success.^ At the close of this time (a. d. 868), both 
these missionaries set out for Rome, to give an account of 
their labors. Cyril retired to a monastery, where he died;, 
but Methodius, having been consecrated bishop by Pope 
Hadrian II., with jurisdiction over Pannonia and Moravia, 
but without any fixed see, returned to continue his mission- 
ary labors among the Slavonians. He now set about and 
completed the work of translating the Scriptures into the 
Slavonic tongue. After Methodius had returned home, some 
of the priests of the archdiocese of Salzburg questioned the 
motives which led him to use the Slavonic language in the 
liturgy, and sought to throw suspicion upon his conduct; but 
he successfully defended his course of action at Rome (a. d. 
879), and, besides obtaining permission from Pope John VIII. 
to continue the practice, was invested with plenary jurisdic- 
tion over all the clergy of Moravia.^ Shortly after (a. d. 

' Vita Constantini by a contemporary, in Bolland. mens. Mart., T. II., p. 19. 
Presbyteri Diodeatts (about 1161) regnum Slavor., c. 8 sq. [Schwandtner, Scriptor. 
rer. Hungario., T. III., p. 474.) Conf. Gimel, Hist, of Cyril and Methodius, 
Apostles of the Slavonians and of the Slavic Liturgy, Leitmeritz, 1857, with 
the literature incident to the subject, and an appendix, '^GlagoUtic (Moravian- 
Slavonic) Fragments." Dr. Dudik, O.S.B., General History of Moravia, Brunn, 
18G0, Vol. I. Blhj, Hist, of the Apostles of the Slavonians, SS. Cyril and Me- 
thodius, Prague, 1863. 

'^Joannis VIII. ep. 195. ad Method. Arohiepisc. Pannoniens., a. 879: Audivi- 
mus, quod non ea, quae St. Eomana Ecclesia ab ipso Apostolorum principe didicit, 
et quotidie praedicat, tu docendo doceas, et ipsum populum in errorem mittas. 
Unilo his Apostolatus Nostri literis tibi jubomus, ut omni occasione postposita, 
ad JI'Tos de praesenti venire procures, ut ex ore tuo audiamus et cognoscamup, 
iitrum sic teneas et sic praedices, sicut verbis et literis te St. Komanae Ecclesiao 
credere promisisti, aut non, ut veraciter cognoscamus doctrinam tuam. Audi- 
VOL. II — 16 



242 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 1. 

881), ho again set out to Eome to submit some controverted 
-points to the judgment of the Apostolic See, after which 
his name disappears from history. He probably died about 
A. D. 885. 

Owing to the ill feeling and mutual jealousies which the 
Moravians entertained for the Germans, with whom they had 
carried on many wars, Moymar, a Moravian prince, requested 
and obtained from Pope John IX. a grant, by which the 
church of Moravia was made independent of that of Ger- 
many, with an archbishop and two sufi'ragan bishops. In the 
year 900, the archbishops of Mentz and Salzburg protested 
against this change. But, as the kingdom of Moravia ceased 
to exist in 908, when its territories were divided between 
Bohemia and Hungary, its ecclesiastical jurisdiction was, by 
order of Pope Agapetus II., restored (a. d. 952) to Gerhard^ 
then Bishop of Passau, who appointed Sylvester first Bishop 
of Moravia. 

In the year 973, and, after a short interruption, again in 
981, Moravia was placed under the jurisdiction of the bish- 



vimus etiam, quod missas cantes in barbara, b, o. in slavina lingua; unde jam 
Uteris Nostris per Paulum Episcopum Anconitanum tibi directis probibuimus, 
ne in ea lingua sacra missarum solemnia celebrares ; sed vel in latina, vcl in 
graeea lingua, sicut Ecclesia Dei toto orbo terrarum diffusa et omnibus gentibus 
dilatata cantat. Praedioaro voro aut sermonem in populo facere tibi licet, quo- 
niam Psalmista (Ps. CXVI.) omnes admonet Dominum gentes laudare, ct Apos- 
tolus: omnis, inquit, lingua conflteatur, quia Dominus Jesus in gloria est Dei 
Patris. (Phil. ii. 11; Mansi, T. XVII., p. 133.) After coming to an agree- 
ment with Eome, the Pope wrote to Swatopluk (Conf. Joan. VIII. ep. 247, a. 
880, ad Sfentopulcrum) : Literas Slavonicas a Constantino quodam (?) philosopho 
repertas, quibus Deo laudes debite resonant, jure laudamus, et in eadem lingua 
Christi Domini nostri praeconia et opera, ut enarrentur, jubemus. Nequo enim 
tribus tantum, sed omnibus Unguis Dominum omnes gentes, etc. (Ps. cxvi.; 
Act. ii.; Phil. ii. 11 ; 1 Cor., c. xiv.) Nee sane fidei vel doctrinae aliquid obstat, 
sive missas in eadem slavonica lingua canero, sive sacrum cvangclium, vcl lee- 
tiones divinas N. et V. T. bene translatas et intorprctatas Icgere, aut alia bora- 
rum offijia omnia psalloro; quoniam qui fecit tres linguas pvincipales, hobraoam, 
gi'accam ct latinam, ipso crcavit ct alias omnes ad laudem ct gloriam suam. 
Jubemus tamon, ut in omnibus Ecclcsiis terrac vcstrae propter majorem honori- 
ficontiam ovangelium latine legatur, et postmodum slavonica lingua translatum 
in auribus populi latina verba non intelligentis annuncietur: sicut in quibusdam 
ecclesiis fieri solet. [Maml, T. XVII., p. 182.) Conf. Joan. VIII. ep. 191, in 
Mans't, T. XVII., p. 132. See GlagolUica, on the Origin of the Eoman-Slavio 
Liturgy, 2d ed., Prague, 1832. 



•§ 181. Conversion of Some of the Slavonic Nations. 243 

opric of Prague, to which it remained attached until the 
establishment of the bishopric of Olmiitz, in 1062. 

lu 844, many of the Czechs, who, in the course of the 
sixth century, had passed from Croatia into Bohemia, em- 
braced Christianity. They were baptized at Ratisbon (a. d. 
845), whither they had gone for that purpose by order of the 
German king, Lewis. Subsequent eftbrts to propagate Chris- 
tianity in Bohemia were prosecuted with comparatively small 
difficulty from the neighboring country of Moravia.^ 

In order to repel the attacks of the Germans, Borziwoi, 
Duke of Bohemia, entered into an alliance with Swatopluk, 
King of Moravia, and, while engaged in this transaction, ob- 
tained a knowledge of Christianity, which he at once em- 
braced, he and his whole retinue receiving baptism at the 
hands of Methodius.^ Here again Methodius, owing to his 
partiality for a Slavonic liturgy, fell under suspicion of hetero- 
doxy, and accusation against him was sent to the Pope ; but 
the only efiect of such measure was a more complete under- 
standing and a closer alliance between the Church of Bohe- 
mia and the Holy See. 

Duke Borziwoi and his wife Ludmilla, the first of Bohe- 
mia's saints, acting under the prudent counsel of Methodius, 
labored most effectively, in the presence of innumerable dif- 
ficulties, for the propagation of Christianity and the estab- 
lishment of the Church throughout the length and breadth 
of their territories. The work which they had commenced 
was zealously taken up by their son, Duke Spitignew, who 
did not slacken his efforts till the daj- of his death, a. d. 915. 

But, after the death of his brother, Wratislaus (a. d. 925), 
Drahomira, the widow of the latter, took sides with the mal- 



1 Casmas Prag. ( 11125), Chron. Bohemor. (Scriptt. rer. Bohem. Prag. 1784, T. I.) 
Vita St. Ladmjllae et St. Wenceslai auct. Christiano de Scala Monacho. (Bol^ 
land. Acta SS. m. Sept., T. V., p. 354; T. VII., p. 825.) Gelasil a St. Catharina 
(Dobner) Hajeki Annales Bohem. illustrati., Prag. 1701-1777, V. P. 4to. Bal- 
f'ini Miscellanea hist, boliem. and epitome hist. rer. hohemicar., Prag. 1G77, fol. 
I'alacky, Hist, of Bohemia, I. Pt. Frind, Church History of Bohemia, Prague, 
1864-1866, 2 vols. Zeleny, do relig. christ. in Bohemia principiis, Prague, 1855. 
Conf. the articles '■^Bohemia" and ^'Prague," in the Freiburg Eccl. Cyclopaedia. 

^In the year 894, according to Cosmos Prag.; but according to Domlrowsky, 
between 870 and 880. 



244 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 



contents; had Lndmilla, her mother-in-law, put to death; 
banished the clergy, and demolished the churches. Iler own 
son, Wenceslaus, who had been taught by his grandmother, 
Ludmilla, to walk in the ways of virtue, continued faithful 
to Christianity. 

After the death of Wenceslaus, who was slain in 938 by his 
unnatural and Pagan brother, Boleslaus, Paganism enjoyed a 
temporary triumph, which was checked by Otho I., who com- 
pelled (a. d. 950) Boleslaus to restore the Christian Church in 
Bohemia. His son and successor (a. d. 967-999), Boleslaus 
IL, surnamed the Pious, effected the complete triumph of the 
Christian Church. He had a bishopric established at Praguo 
in 973. Pope John XIII confirmed the establishment of 
this bishopric, but only on condition that the language of the 
liturgy should be, not Slavonic, but Latin} The new see was 
subject to the metropolitan of Mentz. Its first two bish- 
ops, Ditmur, a Saxon, and Adalbert (Woyciech), a Bohemian, 
who had been educated at Magdeburg, while endeavoring to 
make the manners of the people conform to Gospel purity, 
were obliged to contend against the strongest human passiou* 
and the most degraded of vices, such as polygamy, incestu- 
ous marriages, arbitrary divorces, and trafiic in captives. But 
what was still worse, Adalbert had the misfortune of possess- 
ing a dissolute clergy. On two different occasions he quitted 
his diocese and returned to his monastery, where having re- 
mained for a season, he would again go forth in the hope of 
being able to correct the morals and subdue the refractory 
spirit of his clergy; but, finding all his efforts unavailing, he 
gave np the task in despair, bade a last farewell to his flock, 
and withdrew to Pome, whence he went as a missionary 
to distant countries, and was finally martyred in Prussia, 
A, D. 997. 

1 Joan. XIII. ep. ad Boleslaum, a. 967 (?) : Unde apostolica auctoritate et St. 
Petri Principis Apostolor. potestate . . . annuimus et collaudamus atqua 
incanonizamus, quod ad ecclesiam SS. Viti et Wenoeslai Martyrum fiat sedea 
Episcopalis. . . . Verumtamen non secundum rUua aui secias Bulrjariac gentis, 
v.l Russiae, aut Slavonicne linguae; sed mar/is sequens instituta et deer eta apoS' 
toliea, unum potiorem totius eeclesiae ad placUum eligas in hoc opus Clericum, 
latinis litteris apprime eruditum. [Cosmae Chronic, lib. in Dobnori ano. HajeJd., 
T. IV., p. 194.) 



§ 181. Conversion of Some of the Slavonic Nations. 245 

la the year 1347, and while Charles IV. was emperor, 
Prague was raised to the rank of a metropolitan see. 

The Slavic tribes of the Wends (the Serbs, between the Elbe 
and the Saal ; the Leutizians or Wilzians, between the Elbe 
and the Oder; and the Obotrites, in Mecklenberg) carried on 
an unceasing conflict against the Germans, and stubbornly 
maintained their independence until the reign of Henr}^ I. 
(a. d. 926.)^ And when they were finally subjugated, the 
event proved a new obstacle to the introduction of Christian- 
ity among them ; while, on the other hand, Otho I. regarded 
their conversion as essential to the security of Germany. 
"He luished to prove, in this instance, as in the cases of Denmark 
and Bohemia, that he had not been invested withthe title of Pro- 
tector of the Universal Church of Christ to no purpose." With 
ii view of carrying this idea into effect, he caused to be estab- 
lished among these subjugated tribes, the bishoprics of Havel- 
berg (a. d. 946), Brandenburg (a. d. 949), and the still more 
important sees of Meissen (a. d. 955), Merseburg, Zeitz 
(transferred to Naumburg in the year 1029), and Oldenburg, 
established about the year 968, and transferred to Liibeck in 
1164. All these bishoprics, with the exception of the last- 
mentioned, still later on, passed under the jurisdiction of the 
the Archbishop of Magdeburg, whose see had been estab- 
lished in the year 968, and richly endowed. But these sees, 
being generally, besides the residences of bishops, also polit- 
ical centers and the strongholds of foreign power, led the 
people to include Christianity in the detestation which they 
entertained for their conquerors. Hence, in the year 983, the 
Obotrites and Leutizians rose in insurrection, under the lead- 
ership of their prince, Mistewoi, renounced Christianity, and 
martyred its priests. Afterward, however, Gottschalk, who 
had been brought up a Christian at Liineburg, united all the 
Wendish tribes into one powerful Slavic confederation, and 
labored with becoming zeal and earnestness to again intro- 
duce and establish Christianity among them. The bishopi'ics 
of Mecklenburg and Batzeburg are among the evidences of his 

' Masch, Antiquities concerning the worship of tlie Obotrites, Berlin, 1771. 
Gebhardi, Hist, of all the Wendo-Slavic States, Halle, 1790, 2 vols. 4to. 



246 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 1. 



success. These sees, as well as that of Oldenburg, were made 
suffragan to the metropolitan see of Hamburg. In 1066, the 
inhabitants again rose in insurrection; murdered Gottschalk 
at Lentzen ; martyred close upon sixty priests ; demolished 
the churches; and even went so far as to offer John, Bishop 
of Mecklenburg, as a sacrifice upon the altar of the idol 
Eadegast, at lihetra. The persecution of the Christians 
Avhich followed this popular outburst, extended as far aa 
Hamburg and Slesvig. Still the good work went on. In 
the very year of the breaking out of this popular fury, Benno, 
Bishop of Meissen, began his labors among the Serbs, which 
he continued uninterruptedly for twenty years, and prose- 
cuted with such heroic zeal and splendid success that ho 
merited, and has been honored with, the title of Apostle of 
the Slavonians.* He died, a. d. 1100, in the ninety-sixth year 
of his age, after having endured and borne up under all man- 
ner of trials and persecutions heaped upon him by Henry IV. 
because of his attachment to Pope Gregory VII. 

§ 182. Conversion of the Poles? 

Lengnich, Diss, de religion, christ. in Polonia initiis, 1734, 4to. Ejusdem Jus 
publicum regni Polonic, T. II., ed. alt. Gedani, 1735-1766. Henco the Polish 
evision, Lengnicha Prawo pospolitae Krolestwa Polskiego, Krakow, 1836, Vol. 
III., c. 5, p. 225. 

t<7. A. Zaluski, Conspectus novae coUectionis legum occlesiastioar. Poloniae 
(Synodicon Poloniae orthodoxae), Varsow, 1774, 4to. Leleioel, Introduction of 
Christianity in Poland, by OssoUnsM, Vincent. Kadlubek, German by Linde, 
Warsaw, 1822, p. 565-570. Friese, Ch. H. of the Kingdom of Poland, 2 Pts., 
Breslau, 1786. ^Ostrowski, Dzieje i prawa kosciola polskiego, Warszawa, 1793, 



' Oonf. Buitler, Lives of the Saints, German by Rass and Weiss, Vol. VIII., 
p. 205-216. He was canonized, on the authority of early processes, by Popo 
Hadrian VI., who hoped in this way to bring the Saxons back to the Church. 

2 The most celebrated Polish historians are: Martini Galli {ahovA 1130), to- 
gether with Vine. Kadlubek, ed. Gedani, 1749: ed. Bandtkio, Varsow, 1824; ed. 
lUitnes, ad cod. saec. XIII. Teplens., Prag. 1859. Dhigosz [Longinus, Canonic. 
Cracov. postea episc. Leopoliens. 1 1480, interesting and reliable as to what ho 
has written on his own age, i. e. since 1413, but neither very critical nor very 
reliable as to former ages), Historia Poloniae ed. Huyssen, aux. Grodeckiiis, 
Frcf. 1711, II. T. f. Cromcri Varmiens. episc. (tl589) Polonia, sive de origine 
et reb. gestis Polon., Basil. 1554. Naruszewicz, Historia narodu polskiego (until 
1386), new ed.. Lips. 1836; Ropell, Hist, of Poland, I. Pt., Hamb. 1840 (down t<i 
the fourteenth century). 



§ 182. Conversion of the Poles. 



3 T. "'Ropell, 1. 1., p. 95-104, especially Appendix IV., "Introduction of Chris- 
tianity in Poland," p. 622-G50. 

It is related that the Gospel had been aunonnced to the 
Poles by the disciples of Methodius. ISTay, more ; it is even 
asserted that Ziemovit, the great-grandfather of Duke Miec- 
zyslaus, and his successors, if they did not positively favor, 
at least put no obstacles in the way of, the propagation of 
Christianitj'. But these assertions do not rest on the author- 
ity of any of the older historians. It is, however, tolerably 
well ascertained that, after the fall of the Moravian mon- 
archy, such of the conquered people as fled into Poland car- 
ried with them thither the knowledge of Christianity. But 
it was not until after Mieezyslaus had recognized the right of 
suzerainty of the Emperor Otho I., that the Church in 
Poland grew in importance and became firmly and perma- 
nently established. We are told by Ditmar, BishoiD of Merse- 
burg, to whose, writings we are indebted for the most ancient 
accounts of this people, that in the year 965 Duke Miee- 
zyslaus espoused Dombrowka, the daughter of Boleslaus, 
Duke of Bohemia. Soon after their marriage, the Duke, at 
his wife's request, embraced Christianity, and was baptized^ 
by a Bohemian priest named Bohuwid. He at once issued 
orders that, on a designated Sunday in the year 967, all the 
idols in the country should be broken into bits and the frag- 
ments cast into the rivers. This act Avas taken ill by the bulk 
of the people, whose memories were wound up with their an- 
cient faith, and who, when they beheld their long-venerated 
idols destroyed, burst into loud cries and lamentations.^ 

Mieezyslaus established a bishopric at Fosen in 968, which 
was made a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Madge- 
burg.' Jordan, the first Bishop of Posen, labored with a zeal 



^Borjufal, near Sommersberr/, Scriptt. Siles., relates: Qui (Meszko) tandem anno 
965 Dombroviam sororem st. Vcnccslai duxit in uxorom; anno sequento cum 
tota gente Lecliitarum seu polonica, itxore suadcnie ac gratia divtna inspinmtc, 
Biiorum baptisma suscepit, do qua uxoro anno 907 filium goneravit, cui nomen 
Koleslaus in saero baptismate imponi fe«it; anno vero 968 Jordanuni in episco- 
pum Poloniae ordinavit. 

' Conf. Jac. Grimm. German Mythology, p. 446 sq. 

'Ancient legends relate, and even historians, such as Dlugosz, Cromer, and 



248 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 

truly apostolic for the conversion of the remainder of Poland.' 
Boleslaus Chrobri, or the Powerful (a. d. 992-1025), the son 
of Mieczyslaus, went to work, in a spirit of persevering ear- 
nestness and zeal, to establish the Church in Poland upon a 
still more solid basis. He invited the Camaldulese monks 
into the country,^ and founded the Benedictine abbey of 
Tyniec (c. A. d. 1006). The Benedictine abbey on the Bald 
Mountain and the one at Sieciechow were probably founded 
by Boleslaus III., a hundred years later.' The holiness of 
the life of Adalbert, and, still more, the incidents of bia 
heroic death (April 23, a. d. 997), among the barbarous and 
idolatrous Prussians, touched and subdued the hearts of the 
Poles, and won them over to the cause of truth. His tomb, 
at Gnesen, soon became a much-frequented pilgrimage, and 
his incomparable hymn in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
has been always treasured by the gallant Polanders as a rich 
legacy, and sung by them when dashing into battle.* It is 
said that the emperor Otho III., having formerly known 
Adalbert at Piome, and entertained a great reverence for him, 

others affirm, that Mieczyslaus, immediately after his baptism, established the 
metropolitan sees of Gnesen and Cracow, besides seven other bishoprics — viz., 
Posen, Smograu (Ereslau), Kruszwick (Leslau), Plock, Kulm, Lebus, and Ka- 
miniec — and erected many churches and convents, and all with the knowledge 
and consent of Pope John XIII. This Pope is represented as having sent Car- 
dinal Aegidius (Giles) (Bishop of Tusculum), into Poland during the lifetime 
of Duke Mieczyslaus, to organize the dioceses of that country. But there is 
eviilently a mistake here, and reference is probably made to a Cardinal Aegid- 
ius who was sent into Poland to look after the affairs of the Church, in the year 
1123, during the reign of Boleslaus HI. (Krzywousty.) 

1 Ditmar relates : Jordanus, primus eorum antistes, multiira cum iis sudavit, 
dum eos ad supernae cultum vineae sedulus verbo et opere mutavit. Ed. Wag- 
ner, p. 97. 

^Eelated by Peter Datnian, in the vita St. Eomualdi, c. 28. (0pp. Sti. P. Da- 
miani, ed. Cajetani, Bassani, 1783, T. II., p. 453. Bolland. Acta SS. ad diem 7. 
mensis Pebruarii.) 

^ SezygleUki, Aquila Polono-Benedictina, Cracov. 1663, 4to. 

* Tradition traces this magnificent hymn in honor of Mary, Boga rodzlcm, 
back to St. Adalbert. Conf. Wiszniewski, Historya literat polskiej., Krak., T. I., 
p. 374-386. The biographies of St. Adalbert [Canisii lectt. antiq., T. III., Pt. I., 
p. 41 sq.) and other traditions, carefully collected by Voigt, Hist, of Prussia, Vol 
I., Appendix III. Tornwaldt, The Life of St. Adalbert of Prague, Apostle of 
the Prussians [Ulgen, Hist. Periodical, 1853, p. 167 sq.) 



§ 182. Conversion of the Poles. 249 

went on a pilgrimage to bis tomb, and, while tbere, made 
arrangements witb Boleslaus to have Gnesen raised to the 
dignity of an archbishopric, with the sees of Colberg, in 
Pomerania, Cracow, in Lesser Poland, and Breslau, in Silesia,^ 
under its jurisdiction. Some time during the reign of Miee- 
zyslaus II., the bishoprics of Plock, for the Masovians^ and 
Kruszwice (?) (probably Wroclawek), for the Cuiavians,' were, 
if not newly established, at least reorganized. During the 
anarchy which prevailed between the years 1034 and 1042, 
the Church of Poland was in imminent danger of going to 
destruction — a danger which was still further increased by 
the tyranny of the nobles and the dissoluteness of the clergy. 
It was fortunate for Poland that, at this time, a man distin- 
guished alike by his virtues and his ability, was called to the 
throne. This was Casimir I. (a. d. 1043-1058) — a name that 
will be always held in veneration by the Poles. He averted, 
by prudence and firmness, those disasters by which his coun- 
try was threatened ; restored the Benedictine abbey of Tyniec, 
near Cracow ; and, as is supposed, founded that of Leubus, in 
Silesia. By thus founding houses which, by their very char- 
acter, were nurseries of the Christian clergy, he secured the 
permanency of the Christian Church in Poland.^ 

It is true, as Pope Gregory VII. complained, the Church of 
this country was not consolidated by the centralizing bonds 
of a metropolitan see;^ but, for all that, it was so powerful, 



^ Griinhagen and Korn, Eegesta episoopatus Vratislaviensis. Extracts from doc- 
uments, Breslau, 1864, Pt. I., until the year 1302. Berber, Silesiae sacrae origines. 
Adnexae sunt tabulae chronolog. in annal; hist, dioec. Vratislav. 1821. Ritter, 
Hist, of the diocese of Breslau, Pt. I., Brsl. 1845 (to 1290). '\Heyne, Authenticated 
Hist, of the bishopric and chapter of the Cathedral of Breslau, ibid. 1860, Vol. I. 

2 On the several bishoprics just mentioned, conf. RzepnieM, S.J., Vitae Prae- 
sulum Polon. libris 4 comprehensae. Posnaniae, 1761. 

' It has been shown by canon Frank of Posen, in the Jabczynski Gazeta Kos- 
cielna, year 1833, n. 44, that most probably there did not exist any episcopal see 
at Kruszwice. 

* Naruszewiez, 1. c, T. IV., p. 193-210, and Ropell, Vol. I., p. 180, have clearly 
shewn that Casimir never was a monlc, either at Clugny or at Brauweiler, and 
consequently stood in no need of any papal dispensation to take upon himself 
the government of Poland. Billuart, Darras, etc., are to be amended accord- 
ingly. (Te.) 

''Gregory VII. ep. 73. ad Boleslaum Polonor. ducem., a. 1075,- complains : Quod 



250 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. 



and its authority so tiniversally respected, that even the King 
could not outrage its rights with impunity. For when, in 
1075, Boleslaus II. slew St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracoio, at 
the foot of the altar, for having reprimanded him for conduct 
unbecoming a prince, he was obliged to take flight to escape 
the indignation and fury of his subjects. He was excom- 
municated by the Pope, and died a n^iserable death (c. a. d. 
1081). 

§ 183. Christianity in Hungary. 

J. Thwrocz, Chronica Hungar. (Schwandtner, Script, rer. Hungaric, Vindo- 
bonae, 1746, fol.) Inchofcr, S.J., Annal. eccl. regni, Hung. 1S44. Pray, Annal. 
vet. Hunnor., Avaror. ct Hungaroi-., Vindobonae, 1761, fol. Fejer, Codox 
diplomaticua Hungar. eccl. ct civil., Budae, 1828, T. I. Maildth, Hist, of the 
Magyars, Vienna, 1828, Vol. I. Conf. Stolberg-Kerz, Pt. 33, p. 412-439. 

The migration of the Magyars (Hungarians) into ancient 
Panuonia dates from the close of the ninth century. Though 
their origin has given rise to many doubts, it is now estab- 
lished that they belong to the Finnish race. Their dualistic 
religion and the name of their evil genius, which they called 
Armanyos (Ahriman), go to show that they are of Persian 
descent. They offered sacrifices on the mountain-tops, in 
groves, and by the side of fountains. White horses were be- 
lieved to be the most acceptable victims. The first knowl- 
edge of Christianity which this people received came to them 
from Constantinople, about the year 950. Bolosudes and 
Qylas, two Hungarian chiefs, having been baptized at Con- 
fstautinople, returned to their native country in company with 
a monk named Ilierotheus, who had been consecrated Bishop 
of Hungary.' His efl:brts to bring the people into the fold of 
Christ were shortly crowned with unlooked-for success. Dnke 
Geisa (a. d. 972-997), who had married Sarolta, the daughter 

Episcopi terrae yestrae non habentes cortum Metropolitanae sedis locum, nee 
Bub aliquo positi magisterio liuc et illuc pro sua quisque ordinatione vagantes, 
ultra regulas et decreta SS. Patrum liberi sunt et absoluti; deindo vero, quad 
inter tantam hominum multitudinem adeo pauci sunt Episcopi et amplae sin- 
gulorum parochiae, ut in subjectis plebibus curam episcopalis officii nuUateniis 
exsequi aut rite administrare valeant. (Ha.rduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 1318. Maml, 
T. XS,, p. 183.) 

' Conf. Schrockh, Christian Ch. Hist., P. 21, p. 225 i?q. 



§ 183. Christianity in Hungary. 251 

of Gylas, a lady very devoted to the faith and equally active 
in extending the knowledge of it among others, Avas, by her 
efforts, brought to profess Christianity and receive baptism. 
The Church of Hungary was brought into close union Avith 
the Church of the West by means of the labors of numerous 
missionaries, by the relations which existed between Geisa 
and the Emperor Otho III., and by the influence of the Chris- 
tians who had been led into captivity from western countries, 
and who almost equaled in number those who retained them 
in bondage. 

Above live hundred Hungarians were baptized (a. d. 974) 
by missionaries who had been sent into the country by PiK- 
grim. Bishop of Passau, and Adalbert, Bishop of Prague. But 
it is somewhat strange that, notwithstanding their conversion, 
both they and Geisa continued, for some time longer, to offer 
sacrifices to their gods. 

Geisa's son Stephen (a. d. 997-1038) possessed more character 
and resolution, and a stronger and more enlightened faith. He 
was brave, upright, and magnanimous; an enlightened legis- 
lator, a benefactor of his native land, and one of the most 
noble and distinguished characters of the Middle Ages — a 
prince whose exalted virtues have entitled him to rank with 
Alfred of England and Louis IX. of France, and raised him 
to the dignity of a saint. By his marriage with Gisela, the 
sister of Henry II., he became still more closely connected 
with Germany, whose civilization he introduced in his own 
country. Plis first care was to secure the permanency of the 
Church.^ To this end, he founded four Benedictine abbeys; 
established the archbishopric of Gran and ten suffragan bish- 
oprics, viz., Veszprim, Funfldrehen, Jtaab {Bacs, Coloeza, 
-Erlau, Waitzen, Csanad, Qrosswardein, and Weissenburgf). 
He also endeavored to cultivate among his subjects a love for 
pilgrimages, and thereby keep up a communication between 
them and other Christian nations. He erected and endowed 
hospitals and cloisters for their use and convenience, at Con- 
stantinople, Jerusalem, Home, and Eavenna. These pious 



' Charviiius (a Bp. of Hungary), vita St. Stephani. (Schwandiner, 1. c, p. 414 
sq. Bolland. Acta SS. d. 2. m. Sept.) 



252 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 1. . 

works were applauded by the Emperor Otho III. and Pope 
Sylvester II. — the latter of whom, it is said, sent Stephen a 
crown and cross of gold, as symbols of royal authority, and 
conferred upon him the title of Apostolic King, a term in- 
tended to express his great influence in ecclesiastical aflairs.' 
Unfortunately, his son St. Emmeric died while still young, 
A. D. 1032. His nephew, Peter, was, deposed on account of his 
debaucheries, and the insurgents, who were all unbelievers, 
called to the throne from Russia, Andrew, one of the race of 
the Arp^d (a. d. 1045). This prince consented to the restora- 
tion of Pagan worship, the last vestiges of which were forci- 
bly and completely destroyed by his successor, Bela, who began 
to reign a. d. 1060. 



' Conf. de sacrae coronae regui Hungariae ultra 700 annos clariasimae virtute, 
victoria, fortuna oommentarius. {Schwandtner, T. II., p. 416 sq. Conf. p. 602- 
837.) A. Horanyi (a Hungarian Piarist), Commentar. de sacra corona Hungariae 
ao de regibus eadem redimitis, Pesth, 1790. Palma, Prael. h. e., Vol. II., p. 120 
Bq. (Tb.) 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PAPACY AND THE EMPIRE. 

I. Anastasii BiUiothecarii (about 870) Lib. pontificalis, sen Vitae Eomanor. 
Pontificum a Petro Apostolo usque ad Nicol. I. [from Constantine (708) full, and, 
as a rule, supported by documents,] ed. Blanchini, Eomae, 1718-1735, 4 T. fol.; 
emend. J. Vignolius, Eomae, 1724-1753, 3 T. 4to. (Miiraiori, Eer. Ital. scriptor., T. 
III., Ft. I.) Flodoardl (t966) Lib. de Eoman. Pontificib. (715-935) in Muratori, 
Scriptor., etc., T. III., Pt. II., and MabiUon, Annal. ord. S. Benedict, saec. III. 
Vitae Eomanor. Pontificum exeunte saeculo IX. ad flnem saec. XIII. ed. 
* Watterich, Lips. 1862, 2 T. The histories and clironicles of Luiiprand, Her- 
mannus Contractus, Ditniar of Mersehurg, Glaber Radidphus, Landul2:)lms (senioj' 
and junior), Martlnus Polonus, and others. 

II. Baronii Annales; Muratori, Annali d'ltalia (Germ. transl.,Lp3. 1745 sq., 
9 vols. 4to.) Oregorovius, Hist, of the city of Eome in the Middle Ages, Vols. 
IIT. and IV. Von Reumont, Hist., of Eome, Vol. II., p. 188-365. Hock, Ger- 
bert ; HSJler, German Popes ; Weiss, Alfred the Great. 

§ 184. Summary. 

The history of the three centuries, upon which we are about to enter, proves, 
beyond all manner of doubt, the paramount importance of the Holy Alliance 
concluded between Pope Leo III. and the Emperor Charlemagne. It is impossible 
not to recognize in this instrument, by which the Pope was invested with ple- 
nary religious and ecclesiastical authority, and the Emperor with plenary civil 
and political power, the hand of God directing all things, in both the spiritual 
and temporal orders, in such way, that the two worked harmoniously and in 
perfect accord jor the religious and social i7nprovem.ent and temporal advance- 
ment of the nations of Europe. 

.And it is a fact worthy of observation, that, as long as the two powers con- 
tinued to work together energetically, each in its own sphere, without serious 
jar or misunderstanding, the two mutually came to the aid of each other, and 
Church and State respectively went steadily on to a more perfect development. 
But no sooner had the power and consideration formerly enjoyed by the Empe- 
ror begun to wane, than the well-defined and established principles which nad 
hitherto regulated the intercourse of the nations of Euroj^e were disregarded, 
and violent disorders ensued. In like manner, when the despotic princes of 
Italy had hampered and paralysed the authority and influence of the Head of 
the Church, ecclesiastical life decayed in nearly every country of Europe. 

Hence, during the close of the ninth century and the early half of the tenth — 
i. e. during the period when the Holy Alliance between the Pope and the Em- 
peror was broken off — the condition of both Church and State was most deplora- 

(253) 



254 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

ble. And again, during the latter half of the tenth and throughout the ipholo 
of the eleventh centurj^, or after the alliance between the two powers had boon 
renewed, Church and State once more prospered and flourished, and the lifo- 
giving principle, going forth from a common center, imparted vigor and 
strength, and insured harmonious action, to the members of the body, social 
and ecclesiastical. 

^.— THE POPES UNDER THE CAELOYINGIANS (814-899). 

(PBEMISSION GIVEN TO THK EMPEKOR, OE HIS KBPEESENTATITES, TO BE PRES- 
ENT AT THE COKONATION OE THE POPES.) 

Capitularia regum Prancorum, in Baluz. 1. c. ; in Pertz, Monument. Germ., 
T. II., and in Maiisi, Collectio concilior., as Appendices to T. XII.-XVIII. 
Conf. PhUUpa, Hist, of Germ., T. II., p. 88-172. GfrSrer, Hist, of the Carlo- 
vingians, Freiburg, 1848, 2 pts. Diimmler, Hist, of the East-Prankish Empire, 
Berlin, 1862, Vol. I. 

§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 

Charleraagae, while still full of hope that the most gifted 
aud promising of his children might be blessed with length 
of days, had laid upon them the solemn obligation of faith- 
fully and inviolably executing the conditions of the alliance 
into which he had entered with Pope Leo III.^ The grand 
design of Charlemagne, of becoming protector of the Church, 
was warmly taken up, and on various occasions carried into 
practical effect, by Louis the Pious, or the Mild {le D'ebon- 
naire), the only one of his sons who survived him.^ Owing 
to the mature judgment of this prince, and the kindly feehng 
which he was known to entertain toward the Church, it was 
hoped he would early set himself to the work of correcting 

'The original document makes the Emperor say: "Non ut confuse atque 
inordinate, aut sub totius regni dominatione, jurgii controversiam eis relinqua- 
mus, sed trina partitiono ioium regni corpus dividentes — super omnia autem 
jubemus atque praecipimus, ut ipsi tres fratres curam et defensionem Eccledae 
sancU Petri simul suseipiant, sicut quondam ab avo nostro' Carole et beatae 
memoriae genitore nostro Pippino rege et a nobis postea suscepta est." 
; 2 Sed quoniam complacuit divinae providentiae, nostram mediocritatem ad 
hoc constituerc, ut sanctae suae Ecclesiae et regni hujus curam gereremus, ad 
hoc certare et nos et filios ao socios nostros diebus vitae nostrae optamus, ut 
tria specialiter capitula et a nobis et a vobis, Deo opem ferente, in hujus regni 
administratione specialiter conserventur; id est, ut defensio et exaliatio vel honor 
mnctae Dei Ecclesiae et servorum illius congruus maneat, et pax et justitia in 
omni generalitate populi nostri oonservetur. Capitulare Lud. Pii a. 823, c. 2 
(Capitularia reg. Prancor. ed. Baluz., T. I., p. 429.) 



185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 255 



the many and serious abuses that had crept in during the 
reign of his father. This hope was still further strengthened 
by his subsequent conduct. He sent the Missi Domiftici, or 
Imperial Messengers, into every part of bis kingdom to re- 
ceive the grievances of the people ; caused a number of coun- 
cils to insist on the observance of the canons relative to the 
morals of the clergy and the community-life of ecclesiastics ; 
took measures to secure his frontiers against the incursions 
of the Slaves, and reduced the Duke of Benevento to sub- 
jection. 

Stephen V. (IV.?), who succeeded to the papal throne 
(June, 816) upon the death of Leo III., in accordance with 
the conditions ot the alliance entered into with Charlemagne 
by his predecessor, made the Romans take an oattrof fealty 
to Louis. He then set out for France, for the purpose of 
crowning the Emperor. He was received with every mark of 
distinction and honor; and even the Emperor, on approaching 
him, prostrated himself three times. Louis was crowned by 
the Pope, at Bheims, notwithstanding that he had been pre- 
viously (a. d. 813) designated as Emperor by his father, and, 
in an assembly at Ais-la-Chapelle had placed the crown upon 
his own bead. 

It is said that Pope Stephen, in the year of his election, 
assembled a synod at Home, in which he. published a decretal, 
ordaining that in future the popes should be elected by the 
(cardinal) bishops and the Roman clergy, in presence of the 
Roman Senate and people; but that their consecration should 
take place in presence of the imperial embassadors (praesenti- 
bus legatis imperialibus)} The high hopes which had been en- 
tertained of Louis, during the early days of his reign, were 
soon blighted. It was not long before it became abundantly 
evident that he was little more than the pliant instrument of 
his court favorites, and particularly of his second wife, Judil/i 
(after the year 818). Like his father, he divided his king- 



^ MuratoH nnd several other modern historians, against Baronius, Natalis 
Alexander, Pagi, and others, claimed for Pope Stephen V. this decretal, which 
appears also in the Corpus Jur. can., c. 28, Dist. 6S. Its adversaries either 
deemed it to be spurious, or attributed it to Pope Stephen VI. (VII.) Conf. 
Mefele, Wist, of Councils, Vol. IV., p. 7. 



256 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 



dom among the three sons, born of Irmengard, his first wife. 
Pepin was made King of Aquitaine ; Louis, the youngest, 
was created Duke of Bavaria and lord of the Avaric and 
Slavic provinces ; and Lothaire, who shared with his father 
the government of the empire (a. d. 817), was declared King 
of Italy (a. d. 821) upon the death of his cousin, Bernard. 
The last-named prince, dissatisfied with the portion which 
had fallen to his lot, violated his solemn engagements and 
appealed to arms ; and, having been defeated and .taken 
prisoner, had his eyes plucked out, and died of the torments 
which he was made to sufi^er. 

But Judith was sufficiently cunning and far-seeing to so 
change or modify this order of succession as to consult for 
the best interests of her son, Charles, who had been born 
June 13, A. D. 823 ; and to this end she prevailed upon the 
Emperor to set apart for the young prince the provinces of 
Suabia, Alsace, and a portion of Burgundy. This new ar- 
rangement was so displeasing to the sons of Louis by his 
first wife, that they placed themselves at the head of a party 
of malcontents, drew the sword against their father, and de- 
manded that he should resign the crown, that his queen 
should enter a convent, and her brothers take holy orders. 
Their etibrts, however, were unavailing, and Lothaire, who 
aspired to be sole ruler of the empire, vpas obliged to submit 
to the superiority of his father, who, with the powerful aid 
of the East-Frankish and Saxon nobility, triumphed over all 
his enemies. 

But, though Louis was weak and vacillating in the govern- 
ment of his empire, there was no lack of stubborn energy 
when there was question of maintaining his rights against 
the Head of the Church. Hence he entered his protest 
against the right of Pascal I. (a. d. 817-824) to ascend the 
papal throne, because he had been elected and consecrated 
before the arrival of the imperial embassadors, whose pres- 
ence was required, according to the articles of agreement en- 
tered into between the Pope and the Emperor during the 
lifetime of Charlemagne. The Pope pleaded, in excuse, that 
personal violence had been oftered to himself, and that, to 
meet the growing disorders of the factions within the city of 



§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 257 

Eome, there was need of pi'ompt and energetic actioD. The 
Emperor, satisfied with this explanation, confirmed and some- 
what enlarged the grants that had been made by his father 
and grandfather to the Holy See,^ and the Pope, iu turn, 
crowned Loth aire, who had been again associated with his 
father in the government of the Empire (a. d. 823). 

Pope Pascal took advantage of the season of peace that 
followed, to erect new and restore old churches and convents, 
into which the monks who had been driven from the East by 
the fury of the Iconoclasts were received and provided for. 
The Pope would have been glad to do more for those op- 
pressed people, but his means were not commensurate with 
his will. lie also cheerfully seconded the missionary labors 
undertaken among the Danes by Ubbo, Archbishop of Pheims. 

Lothaire made a second journey to Pome, whither he was 
sent by his father to put an end to the disgraceful scenes that 
were daily enacted by the factious partisans of the various 
aspirants to the papacy. Eugene II. (a. d. 824-827) was suc- 
cessful over all his competitors. In order the better to insure 
the obedience of the Roman nobility and people, Eugene and 
Lothaire entered into the following arrangement : The Pope, 
on his part, published an edict, requiring the Poman clergy 
and people to take an oath of fealty to the Emperor, which 
ran as follows : " I promise, in the name of the Almighty God, 
by the holy Gospels, by the holy Rood, and by the body of 
Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, that I shall be ever 
faithful to onr lords the Emperors Louis and Lothaire; except- 
ing, always, whatever may interfere with the loyalty I have -pled.ged 
to the Sovereign Pontiff. Moreover, I shall never consent that 
a papal election be carried on in a way contrary to canonical 
rule or the prescriptions of justice; neither shaU I consent 

' Paschalis vita, epistolae et decreta, in Mansi, T. XIV., p. 539 sq. Harduin, 
T. IV., p. 1223 sq. The Constitutio of Louis the Mild, in Mansi, 1. c, p. 381 sq. 
Harduin, 1. c, p. 1236 sq. The Papal possessions were now classified in the fol- 
lowing manner: 1. Ex jure antique; 2. Ex donatione Pipini et Caroli M. dona- 
tione; 3. Ex pacto Carisiacensi ((Jhiersy) et jure Carolo regi probate; 4. To 
which, afterward, Louis the Mild still added, "curtem regalem," in Germany 
(!onf. Hcfele, Hist, of Counc, Vol. III., pp. 641, 542. 
VOL. II — 17 



258 Period 2. Efoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

that the Pope-elect be consecrated before having taken an 
oath similar to that taken by Eugenius, for the common weal 
of all, in fhe presence of the people and the imperial embas- 
sadors." 

The object of this edict was to prove that it was the Pope's 
desire to show to the Emperor the honor due to him as 2>rotcctor 
I f tho Church.^ 

The Emperor, on his part, published a constitution,^ consist- 
ing of nine articles, in which the mutual relations of the 
imperial to the papal power iu Kome were clearly marked 
out and accurately defined. By this instrument it was or- 
dained that no one should punish with death snch persons as 
enjoyed the special protection of either the Pope or the Em- 
peror ; that all should render obedience to the Pope, and to 
the dukes and judges of his appointment; that a commis- 
sioner appointed conjointly by the Pope and the Emperor, 
should inquire into the administration of justice and the ob- 
servance of the constitution, and report to the Emperor; that 
all complaints against dukes and judges should be submitted 
to the Pope, who might either return an immediate answer 
to them, by his nuncios, or refer them to the Emperor; that 
all property unjustly taken from the Apostolic Sec should be 
restored; and that all dukes and judges should repair to 



^ Eugenit vita et docreta, in Manst, T. XIV., p. 411 sq. JETarduin, T. IV., p. 
125 sq. Cf. Baluz. capitul., T. I., p. 435 sq. 

''The Constitutio Hlotliarii imperator. in Mnnsi, 1. c, p. 479. Uarduin, p. 1261. 
"We extract from it what follows : Constituimus ut omnes, qui sub spcciali defen- 
siono domni Apostolici sou nostra fuerint suscepti, impetrata inviolabiterutantur 
dofensione. Quod si quis in quocvimquo violaro pracsumpsorit, sciat se periculum 
vitae suae ineur^urum. — In clcctione auiem Romani Poni'ftcis nullus sive libc.'" 
sivo scrvus praesumat aliquoJ impcdimontum fticero. Sod illi solummodo Ko- 
mani, quibiis antiquitus concossum est constitutiono SS. Patruni, sibi eligaiit 
Pontificem. Quod .si quis contra banc nostram constitutionem faccro pracsump- 
sorit, cxilio tradatur. — Volumus ctiam, ut Missi constituantur a domno Apos- 
tolico et a nobis : qui annuatim nobis rcnuntient, qualitcr singuli duces ot judicca 
justitiam populo faciant, ct quomodo nostra constitutio servctur. — l)e rebus 
autem coolesiarum injusto rctentis sub occasiono quasi licentia acoepta a Ponti- 
fico, volumus, ut a Icgatis nostris in potcstateni Pontificis ct Eomanao occlcsiae 
colerius redigantur. — Novissimo praocipimus ct moncmus, ut omnis homo, sicut 
Dei gratiam et nostram habere desiderat, ita praestel in omnibus obedientiam 
atque r^verentiam Eomano Pontifioi. 



§ 185. Under Louis tfie Mild and his Sons. 259 

Rome, to give the Pope an opportunity to leai'u their names 
and number, and to instruct them on the various duties of 
their offices. Finally, the duty of obeying the Pope was 
made obligatory upon all persons. 

From the above it will be seen that while the Emperor, as 
protector of the Komau Church, enjoyed, in some sort, a lim- 
ited jurisdiction, the Pope was practically sovereign of Pome 
and the Roman State. And, in matter of fact, the Pope 
could not have got on amid the conflicts of factions, or 
escaped falling a victim to the machinations of some one of 
the contending parties within the city, unless be had been 
sustained by the authority and protection of the Emperor.^ 

After the iconoclastic heresy had broken out afresh in the 
East, during the reign of Michael the Stammerer, this Empe- 
ror made an effort to gain over Louis to his side. The latter, 
having obtained the consent of Pope Eugene, assembled a 
synod at Paris, a. d. 825, whose judgment was, for well- 
known reasons, unfavorable to the mission of the Greek em- 
bassy. Louis, after having removed from the acts of this 
synod whatever seemed offensive or objectionable, had a copy 
of them made and sent to the Pope. It still remains to be 
stated, before closing this pontificate, that, during it, the 
archbishopric of Lorch, which had been destroyed by the mi- 
gratory tribes, was restored. 

The conditions agreed to, in the compact between Lothaire 
and Eugene, were carried out at the elections of the popes 
Valentine and Gregory IV. — the former of whom reigned 
only forty days, and the latter from the year 827 to 844.- 
Neither of them was consecrated until after the imperial em- 
bassadors had arrived. Ansgar, the apostle of tbc Swedes 
and ITorwegians, came to Eome during the pontificate of 
Gregory, and the latter conferred upon him the pallium, and 
created him Legate Apostolic of all the llTorthern nations. 
It was also during the pontificate of Gregory that the sons 
of Louis the Mild rose in arras against their father. They 



' rido Dollingcr, Cli. Hist., Vol. III., p. 121 sq., Cox's trnns. (Tr.) 
■ Grcgorii IV. vita, opistolao ct decreta, in Mansi, T. XIV., p. 503 sq. Har- 
duin, T. IV., p. 1269 sq. 



260 Period 2. Epoch 1: Part 2. Chapter 2. 

were apprehensive that Judith, coming forth from the clois- 
ter of the convent, would again set on foot fresh intrigues for 
the overthrow of the sons of Lftuis by his first wife, and the 
aggrandisement of her own son, Charles. It was now that 
Gregory, feeling that he was called upon, by his direct rela- 
lations to the Emperor and his duty to the whole Christiaii 
world, to act a decisive and energetic part, hastily quit Italy, 
in the hope of preventing so unnatural a conflict. His char- 
acter of mediator and his presence in the camp of the three 
brothers placed him in a position which filled him with anx- 
iety and a sense of danger. Moreover, Lothaire, who well 
'knew that the presence of the Pope would lend a sanction to 
his criminal designs in the eyes of those who were enlisted 
under his father's standard, forcibly and perfidiously I'etained 
Grregory in his camp. In this way the Holy Father was 
made the abettor of the infamous treason of the sons of 
Louis, caused the latter to be abandoned by his troops, and 
was, though unwillingly, instrumental in making him the 
prisoner of his unnatural children. The scene of this action 
was the plain of Eothfeld (Redfield), between Strasburg and 
Basle, and has ever since been called, by a sort of sponta- 
neous and popular instinct, " the Faithless Field." 

The Pope, indignant at this disgraceful act of treachery, 
and deeply grieved that so great a misfortune should have 
befallen Louis, set out at once for Italy. But the Emperor, 
though thus humbled and dishonored, had not yet experienced 
to the full the bitterness of his humiliation. He was arraigned, 
in October of this same year (a. d. 833), before an assembly 
of bishops and nobles at CompiSgne, presided over by Ebbo, 
Archbishop of Eheims, and there, prostrate upon sackcloth, 
read aloud a confession, by which he acknowledged himself 
guilty of homicide, sacrilege, tyranny, and misgovernment. 
And, as if this act were still insufiicient to complete his dis- 
grace, the unfortunate Emperor, with tears in his eyes, him- 
self performed the ceremony of degradation upon his own 
person, while the bishops, as is usual on such occasions, im- 
posed hands and enjoined the penitential prayers. The three 
sons, now feeling themselves secure, made no secret of the 
satisfaction with which they regarded the disgrace of their 



§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sojrs. 261 

afflicted father, whose only oiFense was that his paternal au- 
Ihority had been intolerable to his unnatural children. But 
the bulk of the people were far from sharing their senti- 
ments. That a sovereign who had been uniformly kind and 
considerate, and whose goodness of heart had made him uni- 
versally respected, should be thus humbled and dishonored 
by those who owed him but love and reverence, was shocking 
to every noble impulse and manly instinct, and popular indig- 
nation was soon turned against the perpetrators of the foul 
deed. The punishment of Lothaire was hastened by his ar- 
rogant bearing toward his two brothers. The generous- 
hearted Louis the Younger, keenly alive to the disgrace that 
had been put upon his father, made an appeal to arms, in 
^^'hich he was shortly joined by his brother Pepin. Lothaire, 
hearing of this hostile movement, taking his father with him, 
hastily quitted Aix-la-Chapelle, but being closely pressed, he 
released the Emperor at St. Denys and at once withdrew to 
his kingdom of Italy. No sooner had the lords, bishops, and 
military officers felt themselves safe from the anger and re- 
sentment of Lothaire than they hastened in a body to St. 
Denys, threw themselves at the feet of Louis and begged him 
to again take upon him the office and insignia of Emperor. 
Louis and Pepin humblj^ sought and obtained their father's 
forgiveness ; and even Lothaire, now forsaken and despised, 
came craving pardon for his treachery and impiety. The 
conduct of the Emperor Louis was in keeping with the sur- 
name which he bore. He forgave all those who had betrayed 
him, and, as far as possible, forgot the outrages they had put 
upon him. 

Forty-seven bishops, assembled at Thionville (a. d. 835) de- 
clared the acts of the Synod of CompiSgne null and void; 
received the resignation of Ebbo, Archbishop of liheims, 
which was submitted to the Pope and accepted; released 
Louis from the penance which had been laid upon him, and 
solemnly restored him to the imperial dignity.' 

It should seem that so bitter an experience would have 
taught Louis important lessons as to his future conduct ; but 

' Vide Darras, Gen'l Ch. Hist., Vol. II,, p. 452 sq., Eng. transl. (Te.) 



262 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 



sncli was not the case — it was entirely lost upon the wcaL.- 
minded Emperor. The Empire was threatened by the Nor- 
mans and Arabians from without, while the peoplkj were 
groaning under the oppression of the imperial comriissiou- 
ers, whose duty it was to protect them against the aibitrarj 
exactions of the counts. But neitlier external dangers nor 
internal abuses seemed to have any claim upon the time and 
consideration of Louis, who was wholly engaged in schemes 
to gratify the ambition of his wife, Judith, by promotin,^' the 
interests of her youngest son, Charles. -tTot content wiih the 
considerable portion he had already marked out as the inher- 
itance of the young prince, including a great part of Austra- 
sia and Weustria, situated between the Meuse and tLo Seine, 
several counties of Burgundy, lying beyond the Jura, and 
the country between the Seine and the Loire, he proposed, 
after the death of Pepin, to divide his kingdom of Aqui- 
taine, between Charles and Lothaire, the latter of whom had 
been gained over to the project by the insinuating address of 
Judith. 

Louis of Bavaria, to whom the Emperor owed his deliver- 
ance from his enemies, was naturally indignant at these ar- 
rangements, and once more drew the sword against his father. 
But the two armies had scarcely come up with each other 
when the aged Emperor was taken suddenly ill, and died od 
an island in the Ehine (a. d. 840). 

It was but the dread of the Erankish name, with which 
Charlemagne had inspired foreign nations, that kept them ia 
check during the troubled reign of Louis the Mild. 

The quarrels within the imperial family were a source 
of much sorrow and disquietude to the Church. The well- 
established power of the Empire within its own territorial 
limits, and its authority abroad, had enabled the Church to 
lay the foundations of the social fabric, and to undertake, 
conjointly with the civil power, the education of so many na- 
tions still groping in barbarism. But this great work was" now 
to be given up— at least for a time and in part. When the 
Church beheld the unnatural sight of sons contending in bat- 
tle against their august father, and then, again, armed and 
struggling with equal fury against each other, she wisely <Jon- 



§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 263 

eluded that she, too, should prepare to meet, if she could not 
avert, the storms which threatened her. 

Lothairc wished to govern, with the title of Emperor, all 
those conntries that had been formerly included in the em- 
pire of Charlemagne, and, the better to carry out his design, 
entered into an alliance with his nephew, Pepin of Aqui- 
taine. Louis and Charles leagued together to resist this pre- 
tension. In the battle of Fontenay (Fontenaille), in Bur- 
gundy (a. d. 841), forty thousand men fell victims to the fury 
of this fratricidal strife. In vain did holy bishops interpose 
their authority and volunteer their kind offices to put a stop 
to it. Lothaire was implacable. He even went so far as to 
incite to rebellion the Saxon subjects of Louis. But he wag 
finally compelled to forsake his ambitious desigus, come to 
terms with his brothers, and sign the articles of the famous 
Treaty of Verdun (Virtcn), a. d. 843. This treaty stipulated 
that the Empire should be divided among Lothaire, Louis, and 
Charles the Bald. The last mentioned was also to exercise a 
suzerainty over the kingdom of Aquitaine, which was given 
to young Pepin. The peace was not of long duration. These 
fratricidal wars brought with them their curse, and it lay 
heavily upon each of the three brothers. Each regarded the 
other with suspicion and distrust, and they were all equally 
ready to seize every opportunity to embarrass and overreach 
each other. Now was the time for the aggressions of foreign 
enemies, and they were not slow to appreciate the occasion. 
The Normans, or ISTorthmcn, a nation of pirates and the allies 
of the Bretons, made descents upon the western coast of 
France, and devastated the kingdoms of Charles the Bald 
and Lothaire. Gliding in their light boats up the Seine and 
the Loire, the Garonne and the Rhone, they sacked the cities 
of Rouen, Paris, and many others, laid the country waste 
round about, and met and overthrew the royal armies. These 
daring seamen and bold marauders, skirting along the shores 
of the Mediterranean Sea, entered the bays and rivers of Italy, 
demolished her cities, and overran her fair fields. But, bold 
as the Northmen were, they were not equal in reckless auda- 
city to the pirates of Arabia. These adventurei's, starting at 
Barcelona, laid waste the entire Spanish frontier and the ad- 



264 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

jacent countries, theu returned and carried the terror of their 
name to the Sicilian shores, and, advancing to the north, 
made the Pope tremble for his safety within the walls of 
Rome. 

The depredations of the ISTorthmen within the kingdom of 
Louis the German were compaTatively light. They did, in- 
deed, advance up the Elbe with six hundred boats, and burn 
the city of Hamburg, but they were soon beaten back by the 
Germans, and compelled to give up the hope of any fui^ther 
conquest. But, if Louis suffered less from the ISTorthmen 
than his two brothers, he was amply compensated for any 
such exemption by the inroads of the Slavic tribes. This 
prince, throughout the whole period of his reign, was con- 
stantly engaged in repelling the Bohemians, Moravians, Serbs, 
and Obotrites from his eastern frontier. Even his own chil- 
dren rose up against him; and thus the empire of Charle- 
magne fell to pieces before the dissolution with which it was 
threatened by the second migration of nations could over- 
take it. 

As is usual with such princes, neither dissensions from 
within nor wars from without prevented Lothaire from 
guarding, with the most suspicious jealousy, his rights and 
piosition with regard to the Head of the Church. 

Thus, for example, he. sent his son Louis to Rome, at the 
head of an undisciplined army of marauders, to demand sat- 
isfaction, because, upon the death of Gregory IV., Sergius II. 
(a. d. 844-847) had been hastily elected and consecrated be- 
fore the arrival of the imperial embassadors; notwithstanding 
that this had been done to prevent any violent measures on 
the part of the deacon John, who meditated a usurpation of 
the papal throne. But the Pope was equal to the emergency, 
and firmly refused to open the doors of the Vatican Basilica 
to Louis until after he had given his solemn assurance that 
he had no hostile design upon the Holy See. The Pope then 
ci'owned him King of the Lombards. 

The Scala Santa, or Sacred Stairway, near the Lateran 
Basilica, consisting of the eighteen marble steps upon which 
our Savior mounted to the Court of Pontius Pilate, and 
which were sent to Rome by order of the empress Helena, 



§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 265 

was also built by Pope Sergius. Toward the close of this 
pontificate, the Saracens made a descent upon Italy, and, 
ascending the Tiber, pulled up before the very walls of Rome, 
disembarked, spread themselves over the adjacent country, 
pillaged its fields, and even plundered the basilicas of S3, 
Peter and Paul, without the walls.^ Owing to this condition 
of aflairs, it was impossible, upon the death of Sergius, to 
defer the election of his successor, Leo IV. [a. d. 847-855),^ 
until the imperial embassadors should have arrived, and it 
was therefore at once proceeded with ; but, in order to pre- 
vent any future complication, it was expressly declared that, 
in so doing, there was no intention of ^^ violating the fealty 
which the Pope owes, next after God, to the Lniperor." 

The new quarter of Eome which Leo built upon the Vati- 
can hill, and which, together with the Church of St. Peter, 
was surrounded with a wall, and has since been called the 
Leonine City, was at first intended to serve chiefly as an out- 
■work and protection to the city proper. 

In the year 848, the Saracens appeared before Ostia, and, 
having taken and destroyed this center of Roman commerce, 
threatened the Eternal City with a similar fate. Bat their 
hopes were disappointed. Leo IV., himself an experienced 
warrior, organized a well-appointed army, and, coming up 
with the Saracens near Ostia, gained over them a complete 
and decisive victory. Even the elements appeared to be on 
the side of the Christians. Many of the vessels of the Moor- 
ish fleet were driven to the shore and stranded by the fury of 
the winds. Those of the vanquished who had been fortunate 
enough to escape the sword of the victor and a watery grave 
were taken prisoners and led away to Rome, to assist in 
erecting and embellishing buildings projected by Leo for the 
adornment of the city. This victory has elicited the eloquent 
praises of Voltaire, a writer not usually partial to popes or 
their achievements, and has called forth the genius of 
JRaphael, whose pencil has immortalized it in one of the 
most beautiful and spirited frescoes in the whole cycle of the 
twelve stanzas in the Vatican Palace. 

' Sergii II. vita et epp., in Mans-l, T. XIV., p. 799 sq. Harduin, T. IV., p. 1463 sq. 
*Leon. IV. vita et epp., in Manst, T. XIV., p. 853 sq. Harduin, T. V^ p. 1 aq. 



266 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 2. 

In the year 850, the Emperor Lothairc sent his son, Louia 
II., who had been ah'cady crowned King of the Lombards 
and associated with his father in the government of the Em- 
pire, to Eomo, to receive from the Pope's hands the imperial 
crown. In the year 853, the Pope also anointed the English 
prince Alfred, son of Ethelwolf, King of Wessex, who had 
been sent to Rome, to be educated, when he was only five 
years of age. If we except Charlemagne, Alfred was un- 
questionably the most eminent of all Christian princes. This 
same year, the Pope held a synod at Home, attended by sixty- 
seven bishops, at which forty-two canons were enacted, giv- 
ing excellent precepts and rules for the observance of eccle- 
siastical discipline. During this pontificate, public documcnta 
were for the first time issued, bearing a date indicating the 
year of the Pontiff's reign. 

A commander of militia, by name Daniel, having repre- 
sented to the Emperor Louis that there had been a plot set 
on foot, whicli was then being rapidly carried into execution, ■ 
for the destruction of the Pranks, so worked npon the mind 
of the latter that he at once set out for Rome at the head of 
a numerous army. The Pope faced the Emperor with firm- 
ness and resolution, boldly denying the truth of the repre- 
sentation ; and Louis, after having listened to the story of 
Gratian, also a commander of militia, and the person charged 
with being the head of the plot, but who satisfactorily cleared 
himself of the imputation, and proved Daniel to be a slan- 
derer, broke up his camp, and Avithdrew from Rome. 

According to a fable related by some chroniclers, who lived from the eleventh 
to the thirteenth centurj^ — such as Martaniis Scoius (tA. D. 108C), Marttmts Po- 
lonus (tA. D. 1278), and Sicphcn dc Borbon (Ia. d. 1201) — a female occupied 
the Papal throne, in the interval between the death of Loo IV., July 17, A. B. 
Soo, and the accession of Benedict III. The fable represents this female as 
having been born at Mcntz, and educated at Athens, in the arts and sciences. 
And it goes on to relate further, that she ascended the Papal throne vmder the 
name of John VIII., and that, on a certain occasion, during a procession from 
the Vatican, she was suddenly taken with th(! pangs of childbirth, and forced 
to submit to the humiliation of exposing her sui, and the imposition she had 
practiced upon the public. Put it is now established, beyond all question, that 
Benedict (a. d. 855-858J was the immediaia successor to Leo, and that conse- 
quently the imaginary interval between the two reigns is the merest flotion. 
Moreover, the fable is not mentioned by any writer from the ninth to the olov- 



§ 185. Under Louis the Mild and his Sons. 267 

cnth century,' and 13 disproved by the testimony of well-established facts. Tha 
Etorj', though of doubtful origin, had about it the flavor of romance, and when 
graccfuHy decked out to meet the popular taste, like all fiction, liad the cliarra 
of novelty, and ran its course. But even Protestants, after having examined 
the matter, and subjected the supposed facts upon which it rested to the canons 
of historical criticism, have pronounced the whole story as a fiction.'^ 



' Some of the manuscripts of Anasiasius ilie Librarian, a writer of the ninth 
ccnturjf, do not contain it, Avhilo it is introduced into others from the works of 
Mariiniis Polonus. jSleither is it to bo found in the oldest manuscripts of this 
author — quite the contrary; for in them the opening words of the life of Bene- 
dict run as follows : " Immediately after the death of Loo IV., Benedict was 
unanimously chosen to succeed him." 

Moreover, the short passage relating to this affair, contained in the works of 
Marianufs Scoius (i'A. D. 1080) and of Siffebert of Gcmblours (t A. D. 1112), is by 
no means authentic; for, according to PcrU, Monum. Germ., T. V., p. 551, and 
T. VI., pp. 3-10, 870, it is to bo found only in the older printed editions of tie 
writings of those authors, and noi in the manuscript copies. That this talc is a 
fiction, is evident from the account given of it in Martinus Polonus, the fust 
writer to mention it, who represents the pseudo pope as residing at the Vatican, 
whereas it is well known, that, until the eleventh century, the Popes uniformly 
resided at the Lateran Palace. 

Moreover, it has been proved to a demonstration, that Martinus Polonus him- 
.lelf was entirely ignorant of this fable, and that it was introduced into liis 
chronicle between the years 1278 and 1312. Of. Dollinrjer, Papal Fables, p. 
10 sq. 

'The testimony of Hincmar is hero of special importance (Ep. 20 ad Wicol. I., 
A. D. 807, opp. ed. Slrmond, T. II., p. 2D8). It is hero related that a messenger 
whom Hincmar had sent to obtain a fiivor from Pope Leo, hearing of the lat- 
ter's death while on his way, continued his journey, and, having arrived at 
Eomo, had his master's prayer granted by Benedict. 

The Diploma of the Monastery of Corbie {Mabillon, do re diplomat., p. 430; 
Mansl, T. XV., p. 113,) is equally decisive of the question. 

Finally, thero exists a Eoman Denarius, bearing the names of Benedict and 
Lothairo, concerning which Carol. Jos. Garampi published a very learned dis- 
sertation at Eomo, in 1749, entitled "De numino argenteo Benedleil III. Pont. 
Max." This silver coin bears upon its ob%'erso tho words SS. Petrus; running 
round, in tho form of a circle, in tho center of Avhicb is the monogram, De. Pa.; 
and on its reverse, arranged in a similar order, is tho inscription, Holtharius 
Imp., within which is the word Plus. Tho reason for having tho two names 
upon tho samo coin is plain enough, for while Benedict was sovereign of tha 
'Ionian State, Lothairo was Protector of the Eoman Church. It is not nccna- 
sary to enter Into any argument to show that tho persons meant are really 
Benedict III. and Lothairo I., for this is the only instance in the whole courii 
of history In which these two names come together. 

To exclude tho possibility of the reign of Popo John VIII. between the death 
of Loo IV. and tho accession of Benedict III., it is merely necessary to ascer- 
tain, _^r5<, tho date of Leo's death, and, sacoid, to determlno a£ neaj'ly as possible 



268. Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 



§ 186. Progress of the Power of the Popes from a. d. 855 to 888. 
False Decretals of Isidore. 

I. The Ensemble of the Pseudo-Isidorian Collection, first printed in Merlini Col- 
Icctio Concilior. (Paris. 1523, Colon. 1530, Paris, 1535) and in J%ne, Ser. lat., T. 
] 30 ; cd. '''Hinschius, along with the capitula Angilrami, Lips. 1863 ; in Mansl 
and Harduin, the particular parts inserted at the pretended dates. 

13. Coustant, de antiq. can. coll. (epp. pontif. Eom., § 10) ; Ballerini Observat. 
in diss. XII. Pasch. Quesnelli de Cod. can. eccl. (Leonis M. opp., T. III.) Blasd 
Comment, de coll. can. Isid. Mercat. in Gallandii de vetust. can. collectionibus 
diss, sylloge, etc., Mogunt. 1790, T. II., p. 1 sq.; in the introductory comment, 
in Hinschius. Mohler, Prom and on Pseudo-Isidore (compl. works. Vol. I., p. 
268-347). Walter, Canon Law, 13 ed., Bonn, 1861, p. 200 sq. Knust, de fonti- 
bus et consilio Pseudo-Isidori, Getting. 1832. '^ Wasserschlehen, "Pseudo- 
Isidore," in Eerzog's Cyclopaedia, Vol. XII. Gfrorer, Age, Scope, and Origin 
of the Decretals of the Palse Isidore. Phillips, C. L., Vol. IV., p. 61-102.. 
''Hefele, The present stage of the Pseudo-Isidorian Question [Freiburg Cyclo- 
paedia, Vol. VIII., p. 849-860). Rosshirt, Literature on the Pseudo-Isidorian 
Question down to the times of Gfrorer and Hefele, in the Heidelberg Annua- 
ries, 1849, n. 1, p. 62-92. 

In the alliance between the Papacy and the Empire, so essen- 
tial to maintenance of peace and the purity of morals througb- 



when the denarius was coined. Now, all accurate chroniclers state that Leo IV. 
died July 17, 855. This is the date given by Anastasius the Librarian and the 
Annalist of St. Bertin, who says: "Anno 855, mense August! (16 Cal. August!), 
Leo Ap. Sedis Antistes defunctus est, eique Benedictus successit." On the other 
hand, it is historically certain that Lothaire died September 28, 855, in the mon- 
astery of Priim, near Treves. Hence, the denarius could not have been coined 
later than the latter part of September, when, as the inscriptions show, Bene- 
dict III. was already on the Papal throne, which he could not have ascended 
prior to .July 17th preceding, when Leo IV. died. Thus we have the two pon- 
tificates brought within a trifle more than two months of each other — an inter- 
val entirely too short to bear out the theory of the fiction, which says that the 
Papess Joan reigned two years five months and four days. 

See Kohler's Pleasures of Numismatics, Vol. XX., p. 305. There is also eztant 
a diploma which Benedict III. issued October 7, 855, or very shortly after his 
elevation to the Papal chair. 

Again, there is no mention of any disturbance having taken place in the 
eaily part of Benedict's reign, or of his being obliged to rid himself of this 
supposititious female Pope. Writers do indeed speak of a schism which took 
place in the beginning of this pontificate, but its author was one Anastasius. 

Again, we have the positive testimony of a multitude of contemporary 
writers, who place Benedict III. immediately after Leo IV., in an unbroken 
line of succession. One of these, Ado of Vienne, then residing in Eome, writes 
as follows: "Pontifex Romanus Gregoriiis moritur, atque ipsius loco Sergius 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 269 

out Christendom, the spiritual authority increased in influence 
and efliciency in proportion as the imperial power waned and 
ceased to be respected. It rose upon the ruins of imperial 
power, and became indispensable as a check upon those dis- 
orders which grew out of a contempt for the laws, depravity 
of morals, and barbaric incursions. Developed in this way, 
it was shortly defended and sustained by the principles set 
forth in the False Decretals of Isidore, the character of 
which we shall now examine. 

There existed, in each of the national churches, a collection 
of ecclesiastical laws, or canons,' which were made use of as 
circumstances required. One of these collections was in use 
in Spain as early as the sixth century, and was subsequently 
attributed to Isidore, Bishop of Seville. 

Toward the middle of the ninth century, a new recension 



ordinatur; illo defuncto Leo succedit, quo obeunte Benedictus in Sede Apos- 
tolica substituitur." Anast. Bibl. is also most explicit on this subject (his annals, 
however, have evidently been interpolated) ; so again is Nicholas /., in his letter 
to the Emperor Michael (Ep. 2, T. VIII., Cone. Labbei CoUec. 273), and Eps. 
8 and 9 to the same relative to the affairs of Photius and Ignatius, and Ep. 16, 
where he complains that Hincmar, having in vain endeavored to bring Leo IV. 
over to his own way of thinking, employed the same arguments with Benedict, 
who, the letter goes on to saj', " Leoni successerat in ordine Pontificatus." 

Even Photius, who was at pains to seek out whatever might cast odium upon 
the Latins generally, and the Popes in particular, does not so much as mention 
the fable of the Papess Joan, but, on the contrary, writes as follows : " Nobilis 
ille Leo . . . inclytus Benedictus, post eum in Archieratico throno successor." 
(Palma, H. E., Vol. II., p. 61-67.— Tr.) 

The spuriousness of the tale is demonstrated by Aeneas Sylvius (Pope Pius II.), 
Plaiina, Baronius, Pagi, Leo AUatius, Lambeck, Labbe, Natalis Alexander, Jno. 
Geo. Eokard, among the Catholics ; and David Blondel, Joanna Papissa, Amst. 
1657. Leibnitz, Elores sparsi in tumulum Papissae (Bibl. hist., Goetting. 1758, 
T. I., p. 297 sq.) Bayle, in his Cyclop., art. Papesse; Chr. Aug. Heumann, in his 
Sylloge diss, sacr., Vol. I., p. 2; The literature thereon, complete, in Sagittaril 
Introd., T. I., p. 676, T. II., p. 626. Fabricii Bibl. gr., T. X., p. 9.35. Very 
exhaustively treated, by Dollinger, Papal Fables, p. 1-45. Baronius assigns ai 
the cause of the rise of this fable, ad annum 879, nro. 5 : Ob nimiam Joannis 
VIII. (in fact, rather John XI. and XII.) animi facilitatem et mollitudinem. 
Gfrorer, Hist, of the Carlovingians, Vol. I., p. 288-293, thinks it to be designed 
as a satire on the pseudo-Isidorian collection, and the alliance struck with Jlse 
Byzantines (Greeks), as Mentz and Athens are particularly dwelt upon in the 
narrative of Martinus Polonus 1 ? 

'See Vol. I., p. 682. 



270 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 2. 



of these canons appeared in Franco, based upon the so-called 
Isidorian collection, but into which many spurious fragments, 
borrowed from private collections and bearing upon their face 
incontestable evidence of the ignorance of their authors, had 
l)een introduced. This recension contained also a number 
of forged documents. There were, altogether, above a hun- 
dred spurious decrees of popes, from Clement to Damasiis 
(a. d. 384), not to mention some of other popes, and 'taany 
false canons of councils. It also contained the forged Deed 
of Donation ascribed to Constantino} However, these decre- 
tals, which, as they stand, are now proved, both by intrinsic 
and extrinsic arguments,Ho be impudent forgeries, are never- 
theless, in matter of fact, the I'eal utterances of popes, though 
not of those to whom they arc ascribed, and hence the forgery 
is, on the whole, one of chronolof/ical location, and docs not 
aitiect their essential character. 

The majority of critics have confined their attention almost' 
entirely to questions of ecclesiastical law, such as the Primacy, 
the relations of bishops to the secular power, to metropol- 
itans, to provincial councils, and to others of a kindred na- 
ture ; as if the three parts into which this collection is divided, 
in the most ancient manuscript copies,' contained only such, 
whereas their subject-matter includes dogmatic and morcd the- 
ology, liturgy, penitential discipline, teachings on the preroga- 
tives and dignity of the Roman Cliurch, on tiie right of ap- 
peal to Rome, on the various degrees of the hierarchy, and tho 



' Even Otho I. ontortainod very serious doubts as to its genuineness, but its 
spurious character "^v.^s proved, beyond all doubt, by Laurent. Valla, Do false 
credita ot ementita Constant. M. donationo (opp. omnia, Basil. 1540, Venot. 
1592), besides a number of separate editions of this work. Cf. Vol. I., p. 
42, n. 2. 

'^Tho first doubts as to their authenticity were raised in tho twelfth century 
by Pctrus Comcsior. Cf. Blasci coram, do collect, cann. Isid. mercat. [Galland, 
syllog., T. II., c. 5, p. 30) ; lilcev.-isc, in Nicol. Ciisanus (in the fifteenth century), 
do Concordia cath,, lib. III., c. 2, and Joh. a Tarracrcmaia. Summa eccl., lib. II., 
■J. 101. Laiircntius Valla, do falso credita — Constantini donationo. Their clc- 
fouic, attempted by tho Jesuit Tia-rlanus, was refuted by Blondcl, Pseudo-Isidorus 
et Turrianus vapulantes, Goncv. 1728. 

* Bo iibris mamiscrfptis Pseudo-Isidorianis, conf. Hinschius in bis Commentatio 
introduotoria, p. XI. sq. 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 271 

like.' The Decretals lay down the rnle that only such persons 
as are of acknowledged virtue, tried piety, and who shall 
have gone through a searching examination in presence of 
witnesses, shall be deemed qualified to pronounce judgment.^ 
There is probably some truth in the conjecture of Luden, 
who surmises that the quarrels between Louis the Mild and 
his children may have given occasion to this collection of 
decretals. These quarrels had become so violent and so sub- 
versive of all order, that there no longer existed any respect 
for things sacred, and even the bishops of the Empire were 
violently inflamed against each other, and carried awaj' by 
the strongest partisan feelings. It is claimed, that, to restrain 
the lawlessness, and check the violence and confusion that 
menaced the Church from every quarter, it was necessary to 
promulgate some code of laws which should carry with it the 

'Tho following is a summary of tho Contents as given by Blunt (Doctrinal 
and Historical Theology, art. False Decretals : (Te.) 

Tho oldest edition of this collection of canons is divided into ilirce parts, of 
which i\ia first contains (after a preface extracted from the genuine collection 
of Isidore of Seville) [Law, Canon] tho Canons of the Apostles, followed hy 
fifty forged briefs and decrees of the thirty earlier Popes, from Clement (a. d. 
91) to Melehiades (a. d. 313). The second part contains, after an introduction, 
the celebrated forged Donation of Constantino, more extracts from the preface 
to tho Spanish collection, one extract from an old Gallic collection of tho fifth 
century, and the canons of several Greek, African, Gallic and Spanish Councils, 
also taken from the Spanish collection in its augmented edition (a. d. 083). Tho 
third part, after another extract from tho Spanish preface, contains, in cln-ono- 
logical order, the decrees of the Popes from Sylvester (a. d. 335) to Gregory II. 
(a. d. 731), among which are thirty-five forged decrees, and the canons of sev- 
eral doubtful councils, the genuine passages being from the Gallic and Spanish 
collections, and from that of Denys the Little; many of these, however, falsified 
by interpolations. After tho Decree of Gregory II., which appears originally 
to have closed the manuscript, there follow, in tho same handwriting, several 
pieces under tho name of Symmachus (a. d. 408-514), notably two fictitious 
Roman councils; this supplement being followed by a second from the same 
hand. To the whole is prefixcct the name of St. Isidore of Seville. Tho forged 
portions treat of dogmatical questions ; of tho dignity, advantages, and privi- 
leges of tho Koman Church; of the prosecution of bishops and other clei-g].-; 
of appeals to tho Papal chair; and of tho due performance of a multitude of 
church ceremonies. 

^Non oportet cos a judicibus ecclesiao audiri, antequam corum discutiatur 
aestimatiouis suspicio vel opinio, qua intentioue, qua fide, qua tomeritate, qua 
vita, conscientia et religione. 



272 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

sanction of authority, and be universally accepted as an authen- 
tic exposition o^ general ecclesiastical discipline, and that to meet 
this want, the pseudo-Isidorian Decretals were collected and 
puljlishcd. 

It is altogether a matter of conjecture loHen these documents 
wero j'lrsi appealed to by any body of men whose recognition 
of them would invest them with an official authority; but it 
is probable that the Synod of ^hiersy (a. d. 857) was the first 
to give them this character before the public. 

The collection seems to have appeared first at Mentz, for 
Hincmar, Archbishop of E,heims, tells ns that Benedict Levita, 
Deacon of Mentz, having received it from Riculphus, Arch- 
bishop of Mentz, upon the return of the latter from Spain, 
inserted portions of it into his own supplement to the Capitu- 
laries of Adclgesius (between a. d. 840-842, or 847). 

Pope Nicholas I. and Archbishop Hincmar were the first 
to draw general attention to these decretals. 

Although arguments are not wanting which go to show 
that this collection is of Spanish origin, still those brought 
forward to prove that the original is Frankish are more nu- 
merous and convincing. The date of these decretals rests 
upon conjecture, and has been variously given. Knust places 
it between the years 836 and 845, or 840 and 845 ; Wasser- 
schleben between 829 and 857; Hinschius between 851 and 852, 
and others between 845 and 857. All that is certainly known 
is, that it was first quoted according to its title by the Synod 
of Chiersy. As Eichhorn and Theiner have remarked: "No 
one who had given the subject any thought could possibly 
have ascribed to them a Eoman origin; much less would they 
have pointed to Pope Hadrian I. as their author or compiler, 
when it is well known that this Pope sent to Charle- 
magne the Dionysian Code, whose articles are far less favor- 
able to the claims of the Apostolic See than those of the 
pseudo-Isidorian Decretals. When going through what has 
been said of this collection by modern scholars, one is 
strongly tempted to believe that they have as little knowl- 
edge of the condition of afl:airs in the ninth century as those 
writers of that age had of the centuries that went before 
them. Moreover, the assertion constantly made, that the 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 273 

. & . 

one palmary object of the Decretals was the exaltation of papal 
authority, is not borne out by facts; for pseudo-Isidore, in 
speaking of the Pope and his rights, is careful never to for- 
get the claims of the bishops. The author of the Decretals, 
whoever he may be, was certainly a Frank, and not vinlikely 
i)jth.ev Benedict Levita, Otgar, Archbishop of Mentz (a. d. 826- 
847), or Aldricus, Bishop of Mans. In imitation of the prac- 
tice of Spanish bishops, he humbly styles himself Isidorus 
Peccator (Mercator), and, throughout the whole course of his 
work, writes in a tone which would prove him to have been a 
man of piety, faith, and virtue, solicitous for the interests of 
the Church, and incapable of practicing fraud upon his read- 
ers." » 

Moehler and Rosshirt have shown that there exists a striking 
analogy between the Decretals and the so-called Apostolical 
Canons and Constitutions, in the treatment of the subject- 
matter in both collections. Moreover, as the authors of the 
Apostolical Constitutions referred to the Apostles the produc- 
tions of later ages, for the purpose of investing them with 
greater value and authority, so also did the compilers of the 
pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, antedate decrees of popes, and 
canons of councils, and ascribe the whole collection to Isidore 
of Seville, a name universally venerated in the Church. 

The judgment of Walter is equally correct, lie says: "ISTo 
essential change was introduced in ecclesiastical discipline by 
the forged decretals. They were only an expression of the 
principles and tendency of the age, and things would have 
gone on just the same if they had never existed." ^ It should, 



''■Hefele, referring to Richter's C. L., 2d ed., p. 129, says: "It -would seem that 
Benedict Levita was conscious of the forgery, for he says, in the Preface to his 
Collection of Capitularies, that 'the Schedulae collected by Eiculphus were dis- 
covered only by Otgar,' as if it were his intention to turn away suspicion from 
the true author (probably Otgar or Benedict), and direct attention to Eiculphus. 
Hinsehius refuses to admit this conjecture." 

^ Exactly the same view had already been expressed by Luden, in his Uni- 
versal History of the Peoples and States of the Middle Ages, Book II., ch. 10, 
i 208. The same, Hist, of the German Peoples, Vol. V., p. 473. Conf. Jlefele's 
"Something New," condensed in six propositions, of which, however, but two 
were really new, and for that very reason impracticable, in the Tubing. Quar- 
VOL. II — 18 



274 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

• 

however, be added that the compilers of the Decretals, by 
stating as facts what were only the opinions or the tendencies 
of the age, by giving as ancient and authentic documents 
such as were supposititious and modern, and by putting for- 
ward, as established rights and legal precedents, claims en- 
tirely destitute of such warrant, did, in matter of fact, hasten 
the development and insure the triumph of the very ideas 
and principles they advocated, signally contributed to the 
growth of that spirit of freedom among the bishops which 
made them independent of the secular power, and gave a new 
impulse to the increasing influence to the Head of the Church 
(episcopus universalis), especially in its relations to metropol- 
itans and provincial synods. But this gain was trifling and 
despicable in comparison with the injury the Church sufi"ered 
in consequence from her enemies, who unjustly taunted her 
with having, in part at least, founded her constitution upon a 
" tissue of lies." 

As has already been stated, upon the death of Leo, Bene- 
dict (a. d. 855-858) was unanimously elected Pope, though 
much against his own will. A faction led by Arsenius, 
Bishop of Grubbio, and supported by imperial authority, at- 
tempted to depose him and place in his stead the cardinal 
priest Anastasius, who had been deprived of his dignity in a 
synod held by Leo.* But the Eoman clergy and people 
oflered so determined a resistance that the imperial envoys 
were forced to release Benedict, who had been shut up in 
prison for three days, and consent to his consecration, at 
which they themselves assisted.^ 

In the course of his short pontificate, Ignatius, Patriarch of 
Constantinople, sent him for confirmation the acts of a synod 
which had been held in that city, and in which Gregory, the 

terly, 1847, pp. 640, 641. I'reiburg Cyclopaedia, Vol. VIII., p. 854-860. {Be- 
under is also of tlie same opinion. — Tr.) 

1 Ei gestis Eom. Pontif. ; In synodo Anastasius presbyter cardinalis tituli B. 
Maroelli ab omnibus canonioe est depositus eo quod paroohiam suam per annos 
quinque contra canonum instituta deseruit, et in alienis usque hodie demoratur. 
Ex Anast. Bibl. vita Leonis IV. apud Mansi XIV.; Deoretalium, lib. III., Tit. 
IV., c. 2. (Te.) 

2 Benedicti III. vita et epp., in Mansi, T. XIV., p. 102 sq. JIarduin, T. V., p. 
102 sq. 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 275 

unworthy Bishop of Syracuse, had been deposed. The Pope 
approved the Constantinopolitan Acts, and also those of the 
Synod of Soissons, over which Archbishop Hinemar presided; 
but, in reference to the cause that led to Archbishop Ebbq's 
resignation, the Holy Father gave his approval, conditionally 
adding to it the clause "if it be so." 

Lothaire did not long survive Leo IV. Some time before 
his death (a. d. 855), he partitioned his empire among his 
three sons. To Louis II. he gave Italy, with the title of Em- 
peror (a. d. 855-875); to Lothaire II. the provinces lying be- 
tween the Rhine, the Scheldt, and the Maas, or Meuse, which 
were all called, after him, Lotharingia, and at present Lor- 
raine; and to Charles he assigned the country of Provence. 
Whtle the complications arising out of this partition were 
still being canvassed, and Photius was intriguing at Constan- 
tinople against Ignatius, the lawful patriarch, the energetic 
Nicholas I. (a. d, 858-867) was elected Pope at Pome. Louis 
II., being encamped in the neighborhood, came in person, to 
be present at the ceremony of consecration. The assertion 
that this is the first instance -on record of the coronation of a 
Pope does not appear to be well supported.' 

This second Elias, as Ificholas was called by Pegino, while 
kind and affable to zealous and pious priests, was stern and 
relentless to such as led wicked lives. He rendered great 
uervices to the Church at a time when the Frankish dynasty 

' This inference has "been drawn from the words of Anastasms, in his Life of 
Nicholas I. In giving an account of the ceremonies that took place on the 
occasion of this Pope's coronation, he concludes, as is pretended, with the words 
"coronaiur dentque." The words are indeed to be found in the place indicated, 
hut not in the alleged collocation. The passage has been wrongly punctuated, 
and should be distributed into members, as follows : (Nicolaus) cum hymnis et 
cantibus spiritualibus in patriarchium iterum Lateranense productus est. Coro- 
natur denique urbs, exultat clerus, laetatur senatus, et populi plenitude magnifice 
gratulabatur (not coronatur denique. Urbs exultat, etc.) See Giesebrecht, Hist, 
of the Times of the German Emperors, Vol. III., p. 1053 sq. On the character 
■ f this pope, of. Regino, ad annum 858. Post beatum Gregorium usque in prae- 
iens nullus in Romana urbe illi videtur aequiparandus : regibus ac tyrannis 
imperavit eisque ac si dominus orbis terrarum auctoritate praefuit. Pope Nich- 
olaE I. battling against the rudeness and immorality of his times. Dr. Lammer, 
Pope Nicholas I. and the Byzantine Established Church, Berlin, 1857. tThlel, 
de Nioolao I. legislatore ecclesiastico, Brunsbergi, 1864. 



276 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

was rapidly going to pieces, and the morals of nobles and 
bishops were daily becoming more relaxed. He compre- 
hended clearly, and brought fully home to his own mind, 
vi;liat should be the duty and aim of a Pope in a season of 
trial and trouble like that in which his lot was east. While 
the Emperor was still in the neighborhood of Home, the 
Pope paid a visit to his camp ; and, on this occasion, Louis, 
taking hold of the bridle, walked by the side of Nicholas for 
a considerable distance, leading his horse. 

This grand old Pope, believing it to be his duty to inter- 
fere wherever an abuse was to be corrected, a wrong avenged, 
or innocence and weakness protected, took upon him the de- 
fense of Thietberga, whom Lothaire 11., the vicious King of 
Lorraine, wished to repudiate, that he might be free to grat- 
ify a guilty passion he had conceived for Waldrade, the sister 
of Giinther, Archbishop of Cologne (A. d. 856). Lothaire, 
being bent upon having the sanction of the Holy See in jus- 
tification of his course, descended to the baseness of accusing 
his wife, Thietberga, of having, before marriage, committed 
an unnatural crime with her -brother, the abbot Hucbert. 
Thietberga, as a first resource, submitted the decision of her 
case to the judgment of the sword, a species of vindication 
permitted by the popular superstition of the age. The cham- 
pion who had taken upon himself the defense of her honor 
came uninjured from the combat, and she was accordingly 
declared innocent, and restored to her rights and dignity as 
spouse and queen of Lothaire. The King, however, was not to 
be thus balked. His unlawful passion soon suggested a fresh 
expedient. By threats and acts of violence, which the Queen 
was glad to escape at any cost, he forced her to make a con- 
fession of the crime of which she had been charged, which 
she did, in the year 860, before an assembly of eight bishops 
entirely in the interests of the King, at Aix-la-Chapelle. 
She repeated the same declaration before a second assembly 
of bishops, at Frankfort, by whom she was condemned to 
undergo public penance. She had, however, previously ad- 
vised the Pope that something of this sort might probably 
take place, and warned him against receiving any such con- 
fession, made under compulsion, as true. Her words are; 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 277 

" Should it come to the knowledge of your Holiness that I 
have finally been brought to make the false confession re- 
quired of me, be persuaded that violence alone could have 
vsTung it from me, a wretched queen, who have been more 
sliamefully treated than the most menial slave could have 
been." 

In the year 862, a second assembly of bishops convened at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, composed of Gunther, Archbishop of Co- 
logne, and Thietgaud, Archbishop of Treves, both servilely 
devoted to the interests of Lothaire, and the no less venal 
bishops of Metz, Verdun, Toul, Tongers, Utrecht, and Stras- 
burg, rendered judgment in favor of Lothaire, and granted 
him permission to espouse Waldrade. 

In the meantime, Thietberga, who had sought an asylum 
in the kingdom of Charles the Bald, protested her innocence 
of the crimes of which she stood accused, and called upon 
Pope Nicholas to espouse her cause. The Pope called an 
assembly to meet at Metz (a. d. 863), to investigate the whole 
matter; but, in order to insure a fair hearing and to secure 
the proceedings against any undue influence on the part of 
Lothaire, he directed, besides the bishops of Lorraine, the 
bishops of Provence, ISTeustria, and Germany to be present. 
The Pope himself sent two bishops as legates. But Lothaire, 
believing that he should be able to so arrange matters at the 
assembly of Metz as to procure a sentence in his own favor, 
celebrated his marriage, as has been stated, the year previous. 
The King did not miscalculate. He so directed affairs that 
none but Lotharingian bishops were able to assist at the 
synod, and these he was able to influence by threats and 
promises. He even succeeded in bribing the two papal 
legates. Archbishops Gunther and Thietgaud, the pliant 
instruments of his will, directed the policy of the assembly, 
and succeeded in having a judgment rendered agreeably to 
liis wishes. But the grounds for the divorce were changed, 
and it was nOw urged that there had been a marriage between 
the King and Waldrade previously to the union of the former 
with Thietberga. The bishops, having drawn up a report of 
their proceedings, placed it in the hands of the two arch- 
bishops, Gunther and Thietgaud, whom they commissioned 



278 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

to carry it to Rome and lay it before the Pope. Mcholas, 
whom the ISTeustrian bishops had informed of these proceed- 
ings in advance, convoked a council at Rome in the same 
year (a. d. 863), and, having carefully investigated all the 
facts, declared that the acts of the Synod of Metz were null 
and void ; that the assembly itself, because it had favored the 
cause of adulterers, was unworthy the name of Synod ;i that 
the two archbishops, who arrived at Rome with the acts of 
the Synod of Metz while the council was in session, should 
be deposed from their episcopal offices and rendered incapa- 
ble of exercising any priestly function ; that the same punish- 
ment should be inflicted upon the faithless legates; and that 
the bishops who had subscribed to these foolish proceedings' 
should not receive pardon unless they would give unquestion- 
able proofs of their repentance and submit to the instructions 
of the Apostolic See. Lothaire was also threatened with sen- 
tence of excommunication if he did not at once put away 
Waldrade. 

The two archbishops, Giinther and Thietgaud, instead of 
submitting to the equitable judgment of the Pope, withdrew 
to the camp of the Emperor Louis, who was then at Bene- 
vento, to whom they artfully represented that the Pope's con- 
duct to them implied an insult to his brother, Lothaire, inas- 
much as they were the envoys of that prince. Louis grew 
indignant at the fancied outrage that had been put upon 
his brother, and at once set out, at the head of his army, for 
Rome, with the purpose of compelling the Pope to change 
the sentence that had been passed upon the archbishops, or 
to make some other apology for the insult that had been 
offered to the imperial dignity. But even the capture of 
Rome, and the presence of a rude and barbarous army within 
its walls, had no terrors for ISTicholas. Conscious of the jus- 
tice of his cause, and obedient to the call of duty, he boldly 
refused to make the slightest concession. He " stood as an 
immovable wall against the attempts of the wicked," and 

1 Nee vocari synodum, sed tanquam adulteria faventum prostibulum appellari 
deoernimua. Harduin, T. V., p. 573. (Tk.) 
' Gesta insania. 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 279 

declared that under no consideration would lie pronounce the 
marriage of Lothaire with Thietberga unlawful} 

The Pope proclaimed a public fast and a penitential proces- 
sion, that God might deign to inspire the Emperor with right 
thoughts and with feelings of reverence toward the Holy See. 
The procession was interrupted by the rude soldiery, and the 
Pope was obliged to retire, for safety, to the Church of St. 
Peter, where he spent two days and nights in praj'er and fast- 
ing. This event, and the sudden death of a soldier who had 
snatched a bronze cross, held in great veneration by the peo- 
ple, from the hands of a priest in the procession, and tram- 
pled it under foot, produced a great reaction among the sol- 
diers. Moreover, the Emperor, having been himself stricken 
down by disease, came to regard these occurrences as tokens 
of divine anger, and sent the Empress to the Pope to ask the 
favor of a reconciliation. The Pope begged him to give up 
the cause of the archbishops and leave Rome, which he at 
once did. Some idea of this Pope's character when in the dis- 
charge of duty may be had from the fact that no intercession 
of princes or bishops could ever prevail upon him to remit 
one iota of the sentence which he had passed upon the two 
archbishops through whose intrigues the acts of the synod of 
Metz had been done. 

Lothaire now sought to recommend himself to the Pope by 
professions of submission, offer.ing to come to Rome in per- 
son, explain his conduct, and vindicate his course. But 
N^icholas absolutely refused to see him,^ and through his 
legate, Arsenius, threatened him with excommunication un- 
less he should immediately leave off criminal intercourse 
with Waldrade, and again receive and treat Thietberga as his 
lawful wife. Lothaire did as he was required, and gave "Wal- 
drade into the custody of the papal legate, to be conducted 

^Hincmar, de divortio Hlotharii regis et Theutbergae reginae. (0pp. ed. 
Sirmond., T. I. Conf. Mansi, T. XV., pp. 319, 324, 373, 649.) The synodal 
acts of Aix-la-Chapelle and Metz, in Mansi, T. XV., p. 611 sq. Harduin, T. V., 
p. 539 sq. 

'Cul interdiximus et omnino interdicimus, ut iter talis qualis nunc est non 
arripiat eo quod Eomana eoolesia talem reapuat et contemnat. Bp. 27 to Louis, 
King of the Germans, and Charles the Bald. (Tk.) 



280 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

to Rome, and there to undergo suitable penance; but, while 
on the journey, she was seized and carried back again to the 
faithless prince. Pope ITichoIas (a. d. 866) pronounced sen- 
tence of excommunication against her. 

Lothaire now devised a new expedient for the gratification 
of passions. He so ill-treated Thietberga that she was glad 
to be rid of him at any cost, and accordingly wrote a letter 
to the Pope, in which she said that her marriage with Lothaire 
had never been a valid one ; that Waldrade was his lawful 
wife, and that she herself proposed to enter a convent. In 
conclusion, she begged the Pope to pronounce judgment in 
accordance with these representations. The Pope was im- 
movable. He refused to listen to her appeal, and replied, in 
a letter full of dignity and firmness,' admonishing the unfor- 
tunate Queen not to be prevailed upon by fear or force to 
utter a falsehood, and exhorted her to stand firm, confessing 
the truth, having the assurance that, should she die on this 
account, she would merit a martyr's reward. The Pope also 
wrote to the bishops of Lorraine, and to Lothaire and Charles 
the Bald, reminding them of their duties under the circum- 
stances. Thietberga was obliged to retire to the territories 
of Charles, where she was when Nicholas died. 

Pope Mcholas endeavored, in this case as in every other, to 
maintain or restore ecclesiastical discipline, which was rapidly 
becoming lax. At a diet, held in 863, abbots, bishops, and 
counts had already sounded the alarm, and deplored, in words 
of sorrow, the rapid extinction of Christian morality and pub- 
lic order. Should so great an outrage against the very founda- 
tion of public morality^ go unpunished, Mcholas felt that a 
new sanction would be given to the lax principles which had 
already taken so fast a hold upon the popular mind, and he 
therefore pronounced sentence of excommunication upon Lo- 
thaire.* 

Pope Nicholas acted with equal vigor in other circum- 
stances of quite a difi:erent character. John, Archbishop of 

' Ep. 48. (Te.) 

2 Conoil. Pistense, in Hardidn, T. V., p. 561 ; Baluz., T. II., p. 104 sq. 
a Oonf. DolUnger, C. H., Vol. II., p. 126 sq., and Neander, Hist, of the Cluiroli, 
Vol. III., p. 353 sq. (Tk.) 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 281 

Ravenna, had oppressed and plundered the inhabitants of his 
own and neighboring dioceses. The Pope finally took the 
matter in hand, and ordered John to' appear before a sj^nod 
at Rome, and answer for his conduct. This the archbishop 
having refused to do, was excommunicated. He now turned 
to the Emperor for assistance, and the latter sent delegates 
■with liim to Eorae. But Pope Nicholas, having been invited 
to come to Eavenna, made a visit to that city, and compelled 
John and his brothers to restore whatever thej^ had taken 
from the inhabitants. In another contest, in which Nicholas 
was engaged, and one, too, which involved his supreme judi- 
cial jurisdiction, he was inflexible and rigorous in the asser- 
tion and maintenance of the rights of the Apostolic See. 
Hincmar, the talented and learned Archbishop of Rheims, 
had been long engaged in a quarrel with Rothad, Bishop of 
Soissons, whom he accused of having trespassed upon his 
metropolitan rights, and of many derelictions of duty. At 
a synod, assembled at Soissons, a. d. 861, Hincmar had Po- 
thad deposed and imprisoned, and another bishop consecrated 
in his stead. The acts of this synod were sent to Pope Nich- 
olas for confirmation, but he declined, until he should have 
examined further into the matter, as many bishops had 
already interceded in behalf of Rothad. The Pope finally 
decided that the acts of the Synod of Soissons were invalid, 
and that Rothad, after having made an apology for his con- 
duct, should be restored, or that both he and Hincmar should 
come to Rome, and lay their claims before the Holy See. 
Rothad complied, and having remained there nine months 
(a. d. 864), without any one appearing against him, was pro- 
nounced free from all the alleged charges, and, returning 
with a letter from the Pope to the King and Archbishop, was 
restored to his former office and dignities. 

But Hincmar now maintained that, even admitting the 
right of appeal to the Pope, the sentence was under the cir- 
cumstances unjust, because, though Rothad had, in the first 
instance, appealed to the Pope, he had subsequently submit- 
ted his case to the adjudication of the bishops, and conse- 
quently, as was asserted, withdrawn it from the jurisdiction 
of the Holy See. This, however, was denied by Rothad, and, 



282 Period 2. Epoch 1. Pari 2. Chapter 2. 

as Keander states, we should be slow to receive the accusa- 
tions of "a passionate and ambitious man," like Hincmar. 
But, apart from this, !N"icholas maintained that, even if Ro- 
thad had not appealed to the Pope, the Synod of Soissons had 
no authority to judge a bishop without having first received 
special jurisdiction for this purpose from the Holy See; be- 
cause a case of this character, if there were any such at all, 
came within the category of the causae majores, which were 
reserved to the decision of the Pope alone.^ The Pope refer- 
red, in j ustification of his cou rse, to the pseudo-Isidorim 
Decretals,^ and when it was objected that this collection 
contained decrees of Popes not to be found in the collectior 
of Dionysius the Little, he replied, that the authority d! 
Papal decrees did not depend upon whether they were con- 
tained in this or that recension, but upon whether they were 
genuine and authentic, or not. He, moreover, reverted to the 
fact, that Hincmar had himself formerly cited the Isidorian 
Decretals without comment, as authoritative documents, when 
it suited his purpose to do so. 

The three charges brought against Archbishop Hincmar 
were as follows : 1. That he had deposed a bishop without 
authority from the Pope, to whom jurisdiction, in such cases, 
of right belonged, because it was one of the causae majores; 
2. That he had prevented a bishop, who had appealed to the 
Holy See, from traveling to Rome ; 3, and finally, That hav- 
ing deposed a bishop, he had appointed another in his stead, 
without having previously consulted the Holy See. 

Archbishop Hincmar finally acknowledged his fault, and 
wrote, in extenuation of his course, a treatise of some length, 
in which he declared that he acted in the belief that he was 
right, and according to the laws of the Church, as he then un- 
derstood them (secundum sacras regulas, sicut eas intelleximus). 

iThe Pope, in his letter to the French bishops restoring Eothad, states: Etsi 
Sedem Apostolicam nullatenus appsllasset, contra tot tamen et tanta vos deore- 
talife eflferri statuta et episcopum inconsuUis nobis deponere nulla modo debuistis.' 
Harduin, T. V., p. 591. (Tr.) 

''■Nicolai I. vita, epp. et deoreta, in Manst, T. XV., p. 143 sq. Harduin, T. V, 
p. 119 sq. Of. tOrto, de causa Eothadi, episoopi Suession. dissertatio, Yratislav. 
1862. 



§ 186. Power of the' Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 283 

Hadrian 11. (a. d. 867-872) followed close in the footsteps of 
his predecessor, to whom he was not unlike in character. He 
had already reached his seventy-fifth year when he ascended 
the Papal throne. The imperial embassadors who were ii: 
the city at the time of his election, expressed their displeas- 
ure at not having been invited to assist at the election ; but 
they were pacified when it was explained to them that this 
had not been done lest it might constitute a precedent, and 
might hereafter be appealed to as a proof that imperial repre- 
sentatives had a right to be present at the election as well as at 
the coronation of Popes. 

Hadrian finally put an end to the difficulty arising out of the 
marriage of Lothaire. In the year 869, the King came to 
Rome in person, accompanied by his cousin Ingelberga and a 
suite of nobles, and having gone with the Pope to the abbey 
of Monte Cassino, expressed a desire to i-eceive Holy Com- 
munion from his hands, as a proof that he was not still under 
sentence of excommunication. The Pope expressed his will- 
ingness, but begged him not to receive the Body and Blood 
of Christ if he had had intercourse with Waldrade since her 
excommunication by Pope Nicholas, and unless he was deter- 
mined to have no further connection with her in the future. 
Lothaire having made solemn oath that such was the case as 
to his past conduct, and that he would observe a similar line 
of action in time to come, was admitted to Holy Communion, 
which he received from the Pope's hands, in token of his recon- 
ciliation to the Church. The Holy Father admitted to the 
Holy Table such nobles of the King's retinue as could say 
that they were conscious of neither participating in nor con- 
senting to the acts of Lothaire and Waldrade. Very few of 
all those who accompanied the King withdrew from the altar, 
and both he and those who remained received with guilt upon 
their conscience. But as Lothaire, and all the nobles who 
had approached the altar with him, died a few days after- 
ward, on their return home through Italy (a. d. 869), their 
death was regarded by the people as a judgment of God. 
Both Thietberga and "Waldrade retired into convents. 

Upon the death of Lothaire, Hadrian did all in his power to 
have his kingdom of Lorraine settled upon the Emperor 



284 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

Louis, the lawful heir, who was at that time defetidiDg the 
States of the Church and the countries of Central Italy from 
the inroads of the Saracens. But Charles the Bald took no 
heed of either the representations of the Papal Legates or 
the warnings of the Pope's letters, and, being intent upon 
securing so great a prize, had himself crowned sovereign of 
Lorraine (a. d. i869), at Metz, by Hincmar, Archbishop of 
Rheims. Both the clergy and nobility were devoted to his 
cause; and when it was objected that Louis was the lawful 
heir to the crown, they replied that the privilege of election 
was an ancient Germanic right, and that Lorraine had more 
need than ever before of a powerful sovereign who would be 
able to protect her borders against the Normans aud the 
Saracens, by whom they were constantly menaced. It is to 
be regretted that this pontiff lessened, in some degree, the 
high consideration in which the apostolic authority was then 
held, by taking under his protection Carloman, the rebelUous 
son of Charles the Bald, who, besides being a renegade 
monk, was nearly incurring the sentence of excommunica- 
tion for his shameful vices ; and by the bitter and fruitless 
struggle which he brought upon himself by espousing the 
cause of Hincmar, Bishop of Laon, against his uncle, Hinc- 
mar, Archbishop of Rheims. The younger Hincmar, who 
had been accused of various violations of ecclesiastical law, 
and of having defied the authority of his metropolitan, was 
deposed by the Synod of Touzi, in the year 871. He ap- 
pealed to the Pope for protection, but, under the circum- 
stances, the latter could effect no more than to delay for a 
time the filling of the see of Laon. 

The replies returned to the Pope's exhortations and claims 
by Archbishop Hincmar and Charles the Bald are significant 
and interesting, inasmuch as they furnish a means of forming 
some idea of the character of the age.^ Hincmar, in writing 

> Hadrlani II. vita, epist. et decreta, in Jlfanst, T. XV., p. 805 sq. Sardnin, 
T, v., p. 691 sq Hlncmari Rem. opuso. 55. capitulor. advers. Hincmar. Laudu- 
nens., anno 870 (opp. T. II., p. 377 sq.) An acquaintance with the commotions 
and discussions stirred up by Hincmar in the Frankish Kingdom, is most im- 
portant for a thorough insight into the history of the church of that kingdom, 
at that epoch. Natalis Alexander, Hist. Eccl. saec. IS., dissert. VI. and VII.; 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. "285 

to the Pope on the question of succession to the crown of 
Lorraine, says : " The Pope would do well to remember the 
inglorious flight of Gregory IV., in the j'ear 834;" and in 
reference to the threatened excommunication: "The king- 
doms of this world are not obtained by the anathemas of 
either Pope or bishops, but are contended for in war, and are 
the reward of victory. Hence, at the last assembly of the 
/ords, secular and ecclesiastical, the announcement of threat- 
ened excommunication was received with manifestations of 
indignation and anger." And, speaking of himself, in con- 
nection with the lords temporal, he says : " When I drew out 
in words an argument based upon the text of James, iv : 1, 10, 
by which I showed that a neglect to keep down the sinful 
desires of the heart and a thirst of earthly glory were among 
the fruitful causes of war, and insisted on the necessity of 
earnest prayer, the lords temporal made reply: ' If what you 
say be true, go you and defend, by j^our prayers, this realm 
against the N"ormans and other enemies, and come not to us 
to seek protection. This you do not, but when there is ques- 
tion of your own defense, you come and ask us to defend you 
by force of arms. This being the case, say to the Pope that 
he should not command us to take a king who, being at a 
distance from us, can afford us no protection, and whose 
bondsmen the Franks will never become.' " 

The language of Charles the Bald, in which it is not diffi- 
cult to detect the pen of Hincraar, is still more aggressive : 
"The Pope should bear in mind that the Prankish kings 
have ever been held to be the lords of their country, not the 
vice-gerents of bishops. But what hell," he goes on to say, 
"is that which has originated a law by which it is declared 
that the King appointed of God, and armed by Him with a 
two-edged sword, should not be allowed to punish a criminal 
in his own State, but must send him to Pome ?" 

Before his death, Hadrian had the joy of learning that the 



Gess, Memorabilia of tlie Life and the Writings of Hincmar, Arolibishop of 
Eheims, Gotting. 1806; Katerhamp, Ch. H., Pt. IV., p. 254 sq.; Mattes in the 
Aschbach and Hefele in the Freiburg Cyclopaedia ; and Noorden, Hincmar, Arch- 
bishop of Eheims, Bonn, 1863, (cf. Tiibg. Quart., 1865, nro. 3,) have well pre- 
BentBd it. 



286 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

Eighth Ecumenical Council had reinstated Ignatius in place 
of the intruded Photius, as Patriarch of Constantinople, and 
that the Greek and Latin branches of the Church had agaiu 
united. 

The position of his successor, John VIII. (a. d. 872-882), 
who was obliged to decide between the conflicting claims of 
two rivals for the imperial crown,^ was embarrassing in the 
extreme. Never, since the establishment, in the person of 
Pepin, of the Carlovingian dynasty by Pope Zachary, had a 
similar duty fallen to any pope. Of the two claimants, Louis 
the German, the brother, and Charles the Bald, the uncle, of 
Louis IL, who died a. d. 875, the latter-named was more ac- 
ceptable to Pope John. Charles the Bald, anticipating the 
movements of the unsuspecting German monarch, had crossed 
the Alps, marched down through Italy at the head of a pow- 
erful army, and was crowned at Eome on the feast of Christ- 
mas, in the year 875. Charles IL, in his turn, relinquished 
his claims to the suzerainty of Italy, much to the detriment 
of the public peace and prosperity of that country, and ac- 
knowledged the force and validity of many important syn- 
odal decrees, making bishops independent of the temporal 
power.^ IS&j, more; he made no objection when the Pope 
appointed Ansegis, Archbishop of Sens, Primate of the 
French Church and Apostolic Vicar, whose right and duty 
it was to convoke synods, to make known papal instructions 
to other bishops, and to report ecclesiastical causes to Eome. 

It was to no purpose that the bishops generally, and Einc- 
mar in particular, protested against this appointment as an 
invasion of the rights of metropolitans.^ But the gratitude 
of Charies ended here. He gave little or no attention to the 
other duties to which he was obliged in consequence of having 

1 Joannis VIII. vita et epist., in Manst, T. XVII., p. 1 sq. Harduin, T. VI., 
P. I., p. 1 sq. 

■'Synod. Ravemi., a. 877, in Mansi, T. XVII., p. 337. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., 
p. 186 sq. S7/nod. Tricassina, a. 878 (capitul. Lud. II., in Baluz., T. II., p. 187). 
Harduiii, 1. c, p. 191 sq. Mansi, 1. c, p. 345 sq. 

* Hinomar, seizing this opportunity, wrote de jure metropolitanorum, a trea- 
tise that most perfectly characterizes the position and tendency of this Bossuei 
of the ninth century. 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — P\lse Decretals of Isidore. 287 

assuued the imperial crown. He made no attempt either to 
check the boldness of the enterprising Saracens or to put an 
end to the existing civil discords which were so detrimental 
to the well-being of the empire. Under the circumstances, 
the Pope did all in his power to repel the Saracens, who had 
now approached the very walls of Rome, and were laying 
waste the surrounding countr3'; but, finding that his effox'ts 
were fruitless and his resources unequal to so great an under- 
taking, he dispatched an embassy to France to beseech Charles 
the Bald to hasten to his aid. Charles crossed the Alps at 
the head of a large army, and was rapidly followed by Carlo- 
man, the eldest son of Louis of Germany, who was bent upon 
avenging the wrong his father had suffered in the loss of the 
imperial crown. Charles fled in terror before his enraged 
kinsman, and, being taken with a fever on his journey, lay 
down at the foot of Mt. Cenis to die October 13, 877. 

Pope John, deprived, by the defeat and death of Charles, 
of all hope of assistance, was forced to purchase the safety 
of Rome by the payment of an annual tribute of 25,000 
marks of silver to the Saracens.^ 

According to the principle which was now universally re- 
ceived and acted upon, it belonged to the Poye, in contested cases, 
to choose and crown the Emperor f and hence it now became 
his duty to select, from among the claimants of the Carlovin- 
gian dynasty, the one he might think most fit to assume and 
support the name and authority of Emperor. 

When, at the Council of Troyes (a. d. 878), the Pope seemed 
inclined to favor the claims of Louis the Stammerer, the son 

' One mark of silver or gold, = to eight ounces of twenty-four carats. (Tr.) 
2 The words of Louis II., in a letter to the Emperor Basil, are most remarka- 
ble. He there places the pre-eminence of the Emperor of the West in his being 
crowned hyihe Pope: Praesertim cum et ipsi patrui nostri gloriosi Eeges absque 
invidia Imperatorem nos vocitent, et Imperatorem esse procul dubio fatentur, 
non profecto ad aetatem, qua nobis majores sunt, attendentes, sed ad uncUonem 
et sacraiionem, qua per summi Poniificls 7nanus impositionem dieimtus sumus ad 
hoc culmen provecti, et ad Eomani prinoipatus Imperium, quo supernc nutu poti- 
mur, aspicientes, — quod jam ab avo nostro non usurpante, ut perhibes, sed Dei 
nutu et Ecelesiae judicio summique PontCfiels per impositionem et unctionem Tnanus 
obtinuit. (Baronli ann. ad a. 871, nr. 54 sq. Muratori, Script., T. 11, Pt. 2, p. 
243.) 



288 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

of Charles the Bald ; he next gave the preference to Boso, Duke 
of Lombardy, and brother-in-law of Charles the Bald; but 
he finally settled upon Charles the Fat, or the Third, King of 
Alemannia, and youngest son of Louis the German (f a. d. 876). 
He was led to make this selection because of the deplorable 
condition of Italy, which now, more than ever before, was 
likely to succumb to the terrible energy of the Saracens. 
Charles the Fat was crowned Emperor by Pope John, in the 
year 881. As most of the members of the Carlovingian dy- 
nasty followed one another in quick succession to the grave, 
shortly after the coronation of Charles, and as he became the 
natural protector and guardian of the survivors, he was ena,- 
bled to once more unite, under one rule, nearly all the coun- 
tries which had formerly belonged to the Frankish m.onarchy, 
as it had existed wider Charleviagne and Louis the Mild. But, 
notwithstanding these powerful resources, he was unable to 
make head against either his own enemies or those of the 
Pope. The last days of the Holy Father were embittered by 
the knowledge that the Saracens had made successful incur- 
sions into Italy, and were laying waste its fair fields. 

The letters of this Pope, which have been brought together 
into one collection, are a standing memorial of his untiring 
energy. It is true that he pronounced sentence of excommu- 
nication against bishops and powerful lay persons more fre- 
quently than any of his predecessors, and was less inclined 
than they to settle his difficulties by the methods of diplo- 
macy; but a sufficient explanation and justification of this 
course may be found in the prevailing depravity of the age, 
and in the deplorable condition to which the See of Rome 
was then reduced. This unfortunate Pope, after having 
reigned ten years, and devoted, during that period, his entire 
energies to the liberation of Italy from Saracen invasion, 
died, without seeing his hopes fulfilled, or his effbrtscrowned 
with success, December 15, a. d. 882. With the close of his 
reign, the short period of princely authority, to which the 
Papacy had risen simultaneously with the establishment of 
the temporal power of the Church under the Carlovingian 
dynasty, came, for the time being, to an end. 

Marinus I. (a. d. 882-884) was the first Pope who had 



§ 186. Power of the Fopes — False Decretals of Isidore. 289 

been consecrated bishop previously to his elevation to the 
Papal throne. He met Charles the Fat at Modena, in 883, 
but the interview had no important result. The Saracens, 
regardless of the compact they had entered into with Pope 
John VIII., overran the territories of Benevento and Spoleto, 
and pushed their incursions as far as the walls of Rome. The 
religious of St. Vincent's, on the Volturno, were put to the 
sword, and their monasteiy, as well as that of Monte Cassino, 
destroyed (a. d. 884). 

Hadrian III., who was elected in the year 884, died the year 
following while on his way to the Diet of Worms, whither he 
was going at the invitation of Charles the Fat, for the purpose 
of anointing Bernard, the natural son of the Emperor and 
heir-presumptive to the crown. 

Stephen V. (VI.) was consecrated immediately after his elec- 
tion, and without having first obtained the approbation of the 
Emperor.^ The latter, on this account, wished to depose him; 
but when Stephen had forwarded to Charles the deed of his 
election, to which were appended the names of the elector^, 
and by which it was shown that the election had been ap- 
proved by John, Bishop of Pavia, and the Imperial embassa- 
dors,^ no further complaint was made. 

But the inability of Charles either to defend the Empire 
against the invasions of the Normans and Saracens, or to quell 
the intestine disorders from which it was suffering, became 
daily more apparent. The bishops complained bitterly^ of the 
absence of all order, the laxity of discipline, and the corrup- 
tion of morals. " Everywhere," say they, " have we to de- 
plore the sack of cities, the pillaging and burning of monas- 
teries, wasted fields, and depopulated plains." 

Duke Henry had been the chief support of Charles the 
Fat, and when the latter lost him, he was not long permit- 

' Stephani V. vita et epist., in Mamt, T. XVIII., p. 6 sq. Barduin, T. VI., Pt. 
1., p. 365 sq. 

' Conf. Muratori, Hist, of Italy down to the year 885, German transl., Pt. V., 
p. 198 sq. 

» Concil. Troslejan., in Mansi, T. SVIII., p. 265. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., f. 
605. 

VOL, n — 19 



290 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

ted to enjoy the honor, or retain the authority of Emperor. 
Too weak to assert his rights, and too incapable to maintain 
them, he was deposed by an assembly of piinces at Tribur, at 
the solicitation of Arnulfh, the natural son of Carloman, who 
had himself raised to the Imperial throne (a. d. 888-899). 
Charles survived this disgrace only two months, and died 
A. D. 888. 

Among the immediate consequences of the fall of the Car- 
lovingian dynasty was the assertion of independence by the 
dukes of Italy and the margraves or governors of the border 
territories of France, each of whom, acknowledging no supe- 
rior, and ambitious of the imperial dignity, necessarily in- 
volved the Popes in their quarrels. The most conspicuous of 
those who contended for the honor of becoming Emperor were 
Guide, or Guy, Duke of Spoleto, and P er en gar ius, Duke of Fri- 
uli. The former, after having gained two important victo- 
ries — the one on the banks of the Trebia, and the other near 
the town of Brixen — called an assembly of the Lombard bish- 
ops at Pavia. Here certain conditions were prescribed, which 
the bishops thought requisite to the right and lawful govern- 
ment of the Empire, and to these Guido subscribed, after 
which he was crowned Emfcror. This ceremony was per- 
formed first by the bishops, and afterward (a. d. 891) by Pope 
Stephen, at Rome. Stephen died shortly after, universally 
revered for his zeal and boundless charity. 

He was succeeded by Formosus (a. d. 891-896), who was 
obliged to crown (a. d. 892) Lambert, the son of Guido, who, 
though still a minor, shared with his father the government of 
the Empire. 

After the death of Guido (a. d. 894), Lambert governed con- 
jointly with his mother Agiltrude, a woman of excessive am- 
bition, whose power shortly degenerated into tyranny. A 
portion of Upper Italy was still in the hands of Berengarius, 
who had not given up the hope of placing the imperial crown 
upon his own head. He now took advantage of the disturbed 
state of society, and the feelings of indignation entertained 
against Lambert and Agiltrude on account of the oppressive- 
ness of their government, to assert his claims. War was ac- 
cordingly declared, and the whole of Italy, not excepting 



§ 186. Power of the Popes — False Decretals of Isidore. 291 

E,ome, was divided into two conflicting parties, eacli equally 
zealous in defense of its champion. To pvit an end to this 
condition of things, the Pope called to his assistance the Ger- 
man King Arnulph, who, being a prince of the Carlovingian 
house, declared his intention to make good his right to the 
government of Italy.* He marched into Italy at the head of 
an army of Germans ; took Rome, where Lambert's mother 
had sought refuge, by storm ; liberated the Pope from con- 
finement, and was crowned by him amid the joyful acclama- 
tions of the people (a. d. 896). The Eomans took the oath 
of fealty to the new Emperor, with the condition, however, 
that their obligations to him should, in no way, interfere with 
the honor and loyalty which they owed to the Pope? Arnulph 
was quite equal to the task of maintaining himself in his new 
dignity, notwithstanding that Lambert, of Spoleto, and Al- 
bert, Duke of Tuscany, had formed a powerful league against 
him, with the purpose of putting an end to German dominion 
i:a Italy. Unfortunately he died in the third year after his 
coronation, and his son and heir, Louis the Child, was unable, 
owing to his extreme youth and the terrible inroads of the Hun- 
garians into Germany, to successfully compete for the impe- 
rial crown." Here a lamentable and disastrous era opens upon 
the Apostolic See and the Koman Church. 

Boniface VI., having been borne to the Pontifical throne by 
a disorderly assemblj^, made up chiefly of the partisans of the 
late Pope Formosus, survived his elevation only fifteen days. 
Upon his death, the opposite party succeeded in electing Ste- 
phen VI. (VII.) (A. D. 896-897), who, unmindful of the dignity 

^Formosi II. vita, epist. et decreta, in Mansi, T. XVIII., p. 99 sq. Harduin, 
T. VI., Pt. I., p. 423 sq. Cf. AuxlUi litb. II., de ordinat. Formosi. (max. bibl., 
T. 5VII., p. 1 sq.) and dialog, super causa et negot. Form. [MabUlon, Annal., 
T. II., p. 28 sq.) 

'The oath is given in Muratort, Hist, of Italy, Vol. V., p. 254 : Jure per haec 
omnia Dei mysteria, quod salvo honore et lege mea atque fidelitaie Domini For- 
mosi Papae, fidelis sum et ero omnibus diebus vitae meae Arnulfo Imperatori, 
«t nunquam me ad illius infidelitatem cum aliquo homine sociabo. Et Lam- 
berto, filio Agildrudae, et ipsi matri suae ad saecularem honorem numquam 
adjutorium praebebo. / 

^Dammeri, Hatto I., Archbishop of Mentz, and Louis the Child, Freiburg, 
1865 (Programme.) 



292 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 2. 



of his office, and yielding to the instincts of hatred, called an 
assembly of bishops to give judgment upon the dead Pope 
Formosus, who, it was alleged, had violated the Canons in 
accepting the See of Rome. The ground of this charge was, 
that Formosus had, contrary to the discipline of the West, 
been transferred from the see of Porto to that of Rome. 
Accordingly, the body of Formosus was exhumed, robed in 
pontifical attire, set up in the hall of the assembly, and an 
advocate given him to plead his cause. Then Stephen VI. 
(VII.), addressing the lifeless form, said: "Bishop of Porto, 
why did thy ambition lead thee to usurp the See of Rome?" 
Sentence of deposition was then pronounced upon him; his 
election to the Papacy declared contrary to the canons, and 
his official Pontifical acts null and void. The body was then 
divested of the Pontifical robes ; the three fingers of the right 
hand, which had been the instruments of his supposed per- 
jury, cut off; and, after other indignities had been put upon 
the corpse, it was cast into the Tiber. Finally, all those upon 
whom he had conferred H0I3' Oi'ders, were deposed. Some of 
them were afterward banished, and others re-ordained by 
Stephen. 

These proceedings so exasperated the party hostile to Ste- 
phen, that they seized him, and, baving loaded him with 
chains, cast him into a dungeon, where he was strangled, in 
the month of August, a. d. 897.^ It is also probable that the 
two succeeding Popes — the pious Momanus and the upright 
Theodore (a. b. 897 and 898) — were murdered by the party 
friendly to Stephen, for having declared in favor of Formosus. 

B.— DEPLOEABLE CONDITION OE THE PAPACY IN THE TENTH 

CENTURY. 

§ 187. The Boman Pontificate during its Disgraceful Depend- 
ence upon Tuscan Domination. 

LuUprandi Historia rer. ah Europ., etc. (unreliable and harshly exaggerating.) 
Olaber Radulf. Hist. Pranoor., libri V. Flodoardi Chronicon, cf. § 178. Mura- 
* 

^Stephanl VI. vita et epist., in Marisi, T. XVIII., p. 173 sq. B:ardu{n,T.Yl., 
Pt. I., p. 461 sq. Muratori; Hist, of Italy, year 897, Pt. V., p. 263. Bonn Peri- 
odical of Philos. and Cath. Theolog., 1847, n. 3. 



§ 187. The lioman Pontificate and l\iscan Domination. 293 

tm-i, Annali d'ltalia, T. V. (Germ, transl., Vol. V., p. 266 sq.) Hardwtn, T. VI., 
Pt. I p. 467 sq. Mansi, T. XVIII., p. 190 sq. DUmmler, Auxilius, and Vul- 
garius Sources and Eesearohes on the Hist, of the Papacy at the opening of the 
tenth century, Lps. 1866. '''Hefele, The Popes and Emperors in the Darkest 
Ages of the Church (Contributions toward Ch. H., etc., Vol. I., p. 227-278). 
Hergenrother, Contributions toward a Hist, of the Popes of the tenth century 
(Wiirzburg Cath. Weekly, nros. 1 and 2, year 1865). Darras, Oh. H., Vol. II. 

After the death of Lambert (a. d. 897), and of Arniilph 
(a. d. 899), the supremacy of Italy was contended for with 
varying success by Berengarius of Priuli, and Louis III., sur- 
named the Blind, King of Provence.^ But, as if these strug- 
gles were not sufiicient to fill the measure of the country's 
misery, the Magyars again burst in upon its fair fields and 
spread devastation wherever they went. To increase, if pos- 
sible, this condition of afiairs, the party of the margrave, 
Albert of Tuscany, of the infamous courtesan, Theodora the 
elder, and of her no less infamous daughters, Marozia and 
Theodora the younger, was all-powerful at Rome. Benedict 
J77. was elected to the papal throne in the year 900. He was 
succeeded, three years later (903), by Leo V., who was, in the 
Eiame year, dethroned by Christopher and cast into prison. 

Through the influence of Marozia, the sister of Theodora, 
Sergius III., her favorite, who, six or seven- years previously, 
had been set up as anti-Pope against Romanus and John IX., 
was recalled from exile and placed upon the Papal throne 
(a. d. 904-911). Much has been said, upon the authority of 
Luitpraud, against the moral character of this Pope ; but, 
before assenting to the grave accusations of this writer, we 
should bear in mind that his testimony is, if not nullified, at 
least greatly impaired by that of two contemporaries, viz., 
Deacon John and Plodoard, both of whom are witnesses to the 
unexceptionable life, to the virtues, the piety, and the zeal of 
Sergius. And their testimony is borne out by the words of 
his epitaph, which represents him as an "excellent pastor, 
beloved by all classes." He reigned seven years, during 
which time he conferred the pallium upon the archbishops 

'Those desirous of avoiding confusion of the personages of this age, would 
do -well to consult HSfler's genealogical tables (German Popes, Pt. I., App. 5), 
where the descent of Berengarius, Theodora, and others, is given. 



294 Period 2. Upoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2, 

of Hamburg and Cologne, and placed the bisliopric of Bre- 
men definitely under the jurisdiction of the former. 

The last-named measure did much toward spreading the 
Gospel among the heathens of the Forth. It was during iis 
pontificate also that the Council of Trosly, near Soissons, 
was held, the canons of which have more the character of 
exhortations than rules of discipline. Harvey, Archbishop 
of Rheims, presided, and in the opening discourse, which he 
delivered, gives a frightful picture of the general relaxation 
of discipline and depravity of morals in those times. St. 
Bernou contributed not a little to the restoration of monastic 
discipline and public morals by the foundation of the famous 
abbey of Clugny, whose light cheered and whose benigu influ- 
ence comforted the hearts of many in that age of tyranny 
and darkness. Sergius III. died December 6, a. d. 911, and, 
with the exception of approving the acts of Stephen VI. 
(VII.) against Pope Formosus, is probably guiltless of the 
other charges which have been brought against him by such 
writers as Luitprand. 

It should be borne in mind, when speaking of these times, 
and of the prevailing corruption, that many of those who 
filled the papal chair were distinguished for purity of life and 
disinterested zeal in God's cause. Such were John IX. (a. d. 
898-900), Benedict IV. (a. d. 900-903), Anastasius III. (a. d. 
911-913), and Leo VI. (a. d. 928, 929). It is well not to lose 
sight of this fact, for persons are inclined, judging from the 
accounts they read of those times, to condemn, indiscrimi- 
nately, all the occupants of the Holy See as equally unworthy 
and selfish. 

Again, it is well known that the picture of John of Ra- 
venna, the relative of Theodora the Elder, who ascended the 
papal throne under the name of John X. (a. d. 914-928), as 
drawn by Luitprand, is not pleasant to look upon, whereas 
modern writers have drawn it, if not in bright, at least in 
less offensive and more harmonious colors. This Pope had 
proved himself a man of good parts and capacity while still 
Archbishop of Ravenna ; and even the panegyrist of Beren- 
garius, who will assuredly not be suspected of any partiality 
for him, speaks of him as follows : 



§ 187. The Roman Pontificate and Tuscan Domination. 295 

"Summus erat Pastor tunc temporis urbe Johannes, 
Officio affatim clarus sophiaque repletus." ' 

The first care of John X. was to put things to right in 
Italy. As a preliminary step toward the accomplishment of 
this purpose, he consecrated Berengarius of Friuli, Emperor 
(a. d. 915). He next secured an alliance for him with the 
Greek Emperor and with the princes of Italy. Having thus 
established friendly relations among all the princes, he united 
their forces for a desperate assault upon the Saracens, who 
were again overrunning Italy. Placing himself at the head 
of the combined army, he went forth to meet the enemy, and 
came up with him on the banks of the Garigliano. The 
Saracens fought with their characteristic daring and gal- 
lantry ; but, being unable to withstand the resolute courage 
of the Christian army, were forced to give way on all sides. 
Their army was annihalated, their stronghold on the banks 
of the Garigliano taken and destroyed (a. d. 916), and their 
power in Italy broken. 

The remaining days of this Pope were spent in consulting 
and providing for the interests of the Church. His answer 
to Harvey, Archbishop of Rheims, who, in the year 916, 
asked his advice as to how such of the newly-converted 
(a. d. 912) IsTormans as had lapsed into idolatrous practices 
should be treated, is characteristic of the man. He instructed 
the Archbishop not to enforce the rigor of the canons, as 
they,' being young in the faith, could not bear what those of 
more mature years would joyfully accept, but to use forbear- 
ance, lest excessive strictness might entirely drive away these 
neophytes from the Church. 

Upon the death of Theodora, John manifested a disposition 
to free himself from the degrading dependence to which he 
had been subjected. But Marozia, who was still powerful 
and in possession of the Castle of St. Angelo, had him cast 
into prison and put to death (a. d. 928). This woman had 
mai'ried Guido, Margrave of Tuscany, the conqueror of her 
former husband, Alberic, Duke of Camerino. She was led 



'Conf. Dicret, in Kopp's Hist. Papers of Luzerne, Vol. I., n. 3, year 1854. 
Jjivranl, Giovanni da Tosaignano (X), Macerata, 1859. 



296 " Period 2. Epoch 1. PaH 2. Chapter 2. 

to take the life of Pope John, because he had entered into 
negotiations with Hugh of Provence, in the year 926, for 
the liberation of Italy, and especially of the Romans, who 
were groaning under the shanaeful servitude of thesie vicious 
women. 

At the close of the short pontificate of Leo VI. (f a. d. 
929), a man distinguished for his energy in enforcing ecclesi- 
astical discipline and for his earnest efforts to raise the stan- 
dard of morality, the papal throne was filled, for a brief 
period, by Stephen VII. (VIII.), who was probably the crea- 
ture of Marozia. Upon his death, this woman had her son 
by her first husband, Alberic, elected Pope. He is known by 
the name of John XL (a. d. 931-936), and was, throughout 
his whole reign, subject to the baneful influence of either his 
mother or brother. In the year 932, after the death of Guide, 
the wily Marozia became the wife of Hugh of Provence, upon 
whose head she succeeded in placing the crown of Italy. 
Hugh, after a time, fancied that his power was sufficiently 
established to warrant him in aspiring to the imperial crown. 
The Pope had, indeed, requested him to accept it ; but Al- 
beric the Younger, a brother of Pope John, protested against 
this assumption as an infringement upon his patrimonial 
rights, took up arms in his own defense, defeated his step- 
father, Hugh, and shut his mother up in prison. Having 
thus established his power (a. d. 932-954) as " Princeps 
Poviae," or Prince and Senator of Pome, he cast the Pope, 
his brother, into prison, in the Castle of St. Angelo, where 
he kept him shut up for three years together, and, during 
this time, assumed and exercised all authority, both temporal 
and spiritual. The popes who reigned under him were nearly 
all men of integrity' and blameless lives. Such were Leo 
VIL, Stephen VIII. (IX.) (a. d. 939), Marinus II. (a. d. 943- 
946), and Agapetus II. (a. d. 946-955). But, notwithstanding 
their personal worth, they were, all the same, obliged to sub- 
mit to a degrading and vexatious dependence. A change in 
the political condition of Upper Italy finally gave hope that 
the papacy might again rise to its pristine authority and 
honor. 

The vassals of Hugh, but particularly Berengarius, Mar- 



§ 187. The Roman Pontificate and Tuscan Domination. 297 

grave of Tvrea, grew daily more impatient of his rule, till 
finally their protests became so urgent and imperative that 
he thought it best to again retire to his hereditary kingdom 
of Provence (a. d. 946). Before going, however, he conferred 
the crown of Italy upon his son, Lothaire, who, though only 
eighteen years of age, had already been associated with hia 
father in the government of the kingdom, and was espoused 
to Adelaide, daughter of Kudolph II. of Burgundy. 

Lothaire did not live long to enjoy the honors and bear the 
burdens of royalty. He died in 950, and was succeeded by 
Berengarius and his son, Adalbert, both of whom were elected 
and crowned Kings of Italy at Pavia. 

The young widow of Lothaire took refuge in the Castle of 
Canossa to escape the hard treatment of Berengarius, who 
tried every means to force her to accept the offer of his son's 
hand. 

From the beginning of the reign of Henry I. of Saxony, 
sui'named the Fowler, the affairs of Germany, whether in the 
political or ecclesiastical domain, had been in a most satisfac- 
tory condition ; and the accession of Otko I. gave still better 
promise for the future. Having been invited by Adelaide, 
who was still shut up in the Castle of Canossa, to come to 
her rescue, he crossed the Alps (a. d. 951), at the head of an 
army, raised the seige of Canossa, drove Berengarius out of 
Italy, assumed the government of the kingdom of Lombardy, 
and sued and won the fair Adelaide (January 6, 952). At the 
Diet of Augsburg, held in the year 952, Berengarius con- 
sented to accept Italy from Otho as a fief of the German Em- 
pire ; but having, on his return, raised the standard of revolt, 
he was shortly overcome and taken prisoner to Bamberg, in 
Bavaria, where he died (a. d. 966). 

Otho was acknowledged King of Italy by a diet held at 
Milan, and was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. 
He was then invited to Rome by the Pope, declared Emperor, 
and again crowned (a. d. 962) and anointed. 

In the year 956, Octavian, a youth only eighteen years of 
age, the son of Alberic, Duke of Tuscany, the husband of 
Marozia, succeeded, through the influence of his faction, in 
having himself raised to the papal throne. The custom, now 



298 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

common with popes, of changing their baptismal name upon 
their accession, into one more ecclesiastical in form, was first 
introduced by John XII. His pontificate lasted till the year 
964.1 

Though young in years, this unworthy occupant of the 
papal chair was old in profligacy, and brought disgrace upon 
his exalted office by his many vices and shameful excesses. 
Put the Church, then in a 'most humiliating state of bondage, 
can not be made responsible for the outrageous conduct of this 
young debauchee. It is a little singular that one who, by 
his wicked life, had done all in his power to bring dis- 
credit upon the Church and Holy See, should have been him- 
self the unconscious instrument in restoring the honor of 
both. 

C— THE PAPACY AFTEE THE EESTORATIOlSr OF THE EMPIEE 

§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 

(BOTH SAXON AKD FEANKISH BMPBKOES PEBQUBNTLY CLAIMED THE EIGHT 
OF TAKING PAET IN THE ELECTION OP POPES.) 

tContzen, The Historiographers of the Saxon Emperors, their Lives, and 
"Works, Eatisbon, 1837. '■' Giesebrecht, Hist, of the German Emperors, Vol. I., 
p. 189 sq. Hofler, German Popes. Hoclc, Gerbert, or Pope Sylvester II., Vi- 
enna, 1837. Hefele, Contributions, etc., Vol. I., p. 253 sq. 'fDamberger, Syn- 
chronistical Hist., Vol. V. tFloss, Papal Elections under the Othos, Freiburg, 
1858. Zoppfel, Papal Elections from the 11th to the 14th cent., Gottg. 1872. 

In the very midst of those clouds which overhung the 
Christian world, and had brought on so deep a night of dark- 
ness, both Church and State took the first steps toward an 
amelioration of their condition. 

Charles IV., surnamed the Simple (f a. d. 923), King of the 
West Frankish Empire, made over to Eollo, the most skillful 
and daring of all the N"orman chiefs, the province of Neus- 
tria (ever since called ISTormandy), in fee-simple, and that of 
Britany conditionally. Rollo bound himself by treaty (a. d. 
911) to embrace, together with his countrymen, the Christian 
religion on becoming the vassal of Charles. He was bap- 
tized under the name of Robert, by Franco, Archbishop of 

' Conf. Aschbach's Eccl. Cyclopaedia, Vol. IV., p. 294-296. 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 299 

E-onen, who had formerly gone on an embassy of peace to 
his court, and shortly after married the royal princess Gisela. 
The country which he had conquered was indeed wild and 
desolate, but this did not prevent him from giving his utmost 
care to its government; and the wisdom and efliciency wliich 
he exhibited in the execution of his trust merited for him tlie 
love and gratitude of the inhabitants. Prom this time for- 
ward, llobert and his successors protected the frontiers of the 
West-Frankish Empire from invasion by the Normans. Thus 
protected from external enemies, religion flourished within its 
borders, and there shortly arose the great and learned congre- 
gation of Clugny, destined in future time to do so much for the 
glory of the Church. 

Christianity beautified and ennobled all that was strong 
and energetic in the Norman character; and it was to the 
efforts of the Normans, who became the most zealous propa- 
gators of the Gospel, that every country of Europe, in that 
age, owed the revival of the Christian religion and the spread 
of Christian sentiments. They carried the weight of their 
influence and the power of their example into France, with 
which they constantly maintained intimate relations; into 
Italy, where a descendant of Rollo established a colony of 
Normans ; into England, where William the Conqueror as- 
cended the throne ; and even into distant Hussia, which owes 
not only its religious and political characteristics to their 
genius and zeal, but even its, very name to one of their leaders. 
It was called Hiiriscia, or Russia, from Eurick, the bold Varan- 
gian chief, who came originally from Scandinavia.^ 

In Germany, the power of the nobles was constantl}^ on the 
increase, and that of the King on the decline. What was lost 
by the latter was gained by the former, and so powerful did 
they become that even the royal commissioners, from fear of 

' Rurik, having boen invited by the Slaves of Novgorod to come and rule over 
them, crossed over the Baltic from Scandinavia, accompanied by his brothers 
Sindf and Truvor, at the head of a small army, took possession of the country 
to the south of the Gulf of Finland, Lakes Ladoga, Onega, and Beloe, in 861 
or 862, and laid the foundation of a monarchy. His brothers dying without 
issue, their principalities were united to jSTovgorod by Eurik. See Canius Uni- 
versal History, and the art. Rurik, in Chambers' Cyclopaedia. (Te.) 



goo Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

them, dared not carry out their iustructions, and were not 
unfrequently induced to make common cause with them. It 
required a strong arm to defend the country against the con- 
tinual aggressions of external enemies, and, as a consequence, 
liereditary dukedoms grew up, little by little, to supply this 
need. The Saxons were the first who possessed a duke of 
their own nation, but it was not long before the Franks, the 
Suabians, and the Bavarians, the three principal tribes of 
Southern Germany, enjoyed a similar distinction. 

By the death of Louis the Child, the race of Charlemagne 
became extinct^in Germany, and the Germans again asserted 
and exercised their ancient rights. Their kings were^again 
elected, not indeed as formerly, by the voice of the whole 
people, but by the suflrages of the hereditary dukes of the 
four principal tribes. 

Otho of Saxony, having refused the offer of the crown, rec 
ommended Conrad of Franconia as a fit person to wear it. 
This prince was descended from Charlemagne by the female 
line, and was a nephew of Arnulph of Bavaria. Pious, chiv- 
alric, and brave, but withal unfortunate, he was unequal to 
the task, either of repelling the devastating invasions of the 
Hungarians, or of suppressing the sanguinary feuds of the 
German princes. He closed his reign of six years (a. d. 911- 
918) by an act of magnanimity and patriotism worthy of a 
great prince, for which his memory is still held in honor by 
the German people. Conscious that the powerful Saxons, 
who had heretofore shown some hostility to the unity of the 
Empire, could alone successfully cope with the enemies of the 
German nation, and secure for it peace at home and respect 
abroad, he generously passed over the claims of his own 
House, and advised that his enemy, Henry, Duke of Saxony, 
a man already distinguished for bravery in war and prudence 
in counsel, should be elected his successor. 

Summoning his brother Eberhard to his side when on his 
death-bed, he gave him the following commission : "When I 
shall have passed away," said he, '"bear the insignia of roy- 
alty, the crown and the scepter, to Henry of Saxony, a man 
truly deserving of them." The commission was all the more 
trying to Eberhard, inasmuch as he himself would have been 



§ 188. The Po-pes under the Saxon Emperors. 301 

the Datnral heir to the roj'al crown, for Conrad died with- 
out issue ; but he showed a magnanimity equal to that of his 
brother, by faithfully executing the will of the latter. 

Henry was hunting when the messenger reached him, and 
from this circumstance he has been surnamed the Fowler. 

Henry the Fowler (a. d. 919-936), also called the Builder, 
fully realized the promise of his youth. He placed the army 
on a more efficient footing, and thus repelled the attacks of 
the Hungarians and Danes ;. introduced tournaments ; built 
strongholds; fortified cities; drove back the Slaves and l^Tor- 
mans from the German frontier; and established the three 
margravates of Slesvig, Brandenburg, and Meissen, for the pro- 
tection of the border countries. After he had completed these 
preparations, he met and totally routed the Hungarians, near 
Merseburg, a. d. 933. Before engaging in this battle, he 
made a vow, that, if he should be victorious, he would em- 
ploy every means in his power to put an end to the vice of 
simony. The genius of Henry I. was felt throughout the 
whole Empire, and gave a fresh impulse to religion, politics, 
literature, and art. 

His example was closely followed by his more illustrious 
son Otho I. (a. d. 936-973), who, like Charlemagne, again 
assumed and faithfully executed the office of protector of the 
Church.^ He was, in consequence, frequently called to Italy 
to put an end to the dissensions of the two contending fac- 
tions at Rome. Berengai'ius II. and his son Adelbert were 
especially notorious for their abuse of power, and the tyranny 
they exercised, not only over the Pope, but all Italy. Otho I. 
was in consequence invited to come into Italy by Pope John 
XII., and by the bishops and nobles.^ lie entered Rome at 
the head of his victorious army, January 1, 962, and made 
the following declaration before the Pope : " I swear to thee, 
Pope John, in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and 
God the Holy Ghost, that having, by the Divine mercy, 
reached Rome in safety, / shall do all that in me lies to exalt 
the Church of Rome and her Pastor.^ E'ever shalt thou, by my 

1 Conf. Oiesebrecht, in 1. c, p. 241-567. 

'Joannis XII. vita et epist., Mansi, T. XVIII., p. 447. 

» Gratiani Decret., Pt. I., diet. LXIII., c. 33. Watterich, T. I., p. 45. Conf, 



302 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

will or consent, or at my instigation, lose life, or limb, or what- 
ever of diguit}'^ belongs to thee. ISTever shall I, without hav- 
ing first obtained thy permission, pass judgment, or issue an 
ordinance relative to whatever concerns either the Romans or 
thyself, and should any portion of the Patrimony of St. Peter 
fall into my hands, I shall at once restore it to thee. And 
sliould I ever transfer the Kingdom of Italy to another, I 
shall oblige such one to promise under oath to his new lord 
that he will do all in his power-to uphold thy authority and de- 
fend the Patrimony of St. Peter." Then both the Pope and the 
Eomans swore upon the. tomb of St. Peter "never to give 
either aid or encouragement to Berengarius and Adelbert, 
the enemies of Otho." Otho — who, as has been stated, had 
already received the iron crown of Lombardy — was anointed 
and crowned Emperor, February 2, a. d. 962 — the first, for 
forty-six years, to wear the imperial crown} A few days after, 
February 13th, the Emperor published his celebrated diploma,^ 
by which he confirmed to the Holy See all the donations that 
had been made to it by Pepin and Charlemagne. He therein 
specified by name all the provinces, cities, towns, boroughs, 
castles, and localities that belonged of right to the Patrimony 
of St. Peter. Moreover, in order to put an end to the scenes 
of violence which had hitherto been of common occurrence 
on the occasion oi papal elections, he ordered that these should 
be conducted with i\iQ fullest liberty, and that the Pope-elect 
should promise, previously to his consecration, and in pres- 
ence of the imperial embassadors, to govern according to law, 
and with the strictest regard to justice. 

Muraiori, Hist, of Italy in the year 962, Pt. V., p. 492. Gfrorer, Ch. H., Vol. 
III., p. 1242 sq., vindicates the genuineness of this oath, unjustly doubted of. 
Giesebrecht, Hist, of the Period of the Emperors, Vol. I., p. 456. Conf. Sefele, 
Vol. I., p. 254. 

^Darras, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 592. (Tr.) 

^ Diploma Ottonis imperatoris de confirmatione jurium Eom. Bocl., in Mansi, 
T. XVIII., p. 451 sq. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 623 , in Hofler, German Popes, 
Pt I , p. 38-42. This public document is written on violet parchment, in let- 
tors nf gold, and is still extant. It has often been questioned whether this beau- 
tiful copy be the original text. Some critics go still further, and call its very 
authenUcitji in doubt, as well as that of the oath of Otho to Pope John. This 
manuscript is probably a copy of the original diploma. Conf. Hefele's Contrib., 
Vol. I., p. 255. 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Enqjerors. 303 

"When Otho was informed, upon the authority of the lead- 
ing citizens of Rome, that John XII. was stained witli the 
guilt of immorality, simony, and other vices equally heinous, 
he dismissed the charges with the remark : " He is still young, 
and may, with the example of good men before him, and un- 
der the influence of their counsel, grow better as he grows 
older." But while the Emperor was still at Pavia, he learned 
that John had entered into an alliance oifensive and defensive 
with Adelbert, and had endeavored to persuade the Greeks 
and Hungarians to invade Italy, and drive the Germans be- 
yond the Alps. Otho turned back, and laid siege to the town 
of Montefeltro, where Adelbert had taken refuge. After hav- 
ing reduced this place, he set out for Eome, where he arrived 
IsTovember 2, a. d. 962 ; but John and Adelbert, not daring to 
await his coming, had already fled, taking with them the 
treasure of St. Peter's Church. The Romans took the oath 
of fealty to Otho, promising never to permit any one to take 
possession of the See of Rome who had not first obtained his 
consent, or that of his son Otho II.' 

Thus far no fault could bo found with either the conduct or 
policy of Otho ; but now, acting under the advice of the Ger- 
man bishops, who, though they were justly incensed at the 
scandalous life of John XIL, were but indifferent canonists, 
he ventured upon a step, the evil consequences of which were 
I'elt long afterward, and involved results well-nigh fatal. He 
convoked (a. d. 963) a synod, to meet in St. Peter's Church, 
at which forty bishops and sixteen cardinals were present, for 
the purpose of deposing the Pope. Luitprand, Bishop of Cre- 
mona, who afterward wrote the history of his times, acted as 
interpreter to the Emperor, who was acquainted with no lan- 
guage but the Saxon. This so-called Synod indicted the Pope 
on the -charges of incest, perjury, blasphemy, murder, and 
others equally enormous, and cited him to appear before its 
tribunal,^ to answer to the impeachment. 



' Imitprand, Lib. VI., c. 6. Gives vero Sanctum Imperatorem cum suis omni- 
bus in urbe suscipiunt, fidelitatemque promittunt: baec addentes et firmiter 
jurantes, nunquam se Papam electuros aut ordinaturos praeter consensum alque 
electionem domini Imperatorts Oihonis. 

2 Conciliabulum Eomanum (Pseudo-synodus) out oi LuUprand,YIl.. p. 0-11, 



304 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

The Pope, instead of complyiDg with this demand, wrote a 
sharp letter to the bishops, in the conrse of which he said: 
"It has come to our knowledge that it is your intention to 
elect another Pope. Should you presume to carry this inten- 
tion into effect, know that, in such an event, we, of our Apos- 
tolic authority, and in the name of Almighty God, do pro- 
nounce you excommunicated, and forbid you to confer orders 
or celebrate the Divine Mysteries." This letter and warning 
produced no effect. The bishops proceeded against him all 
the same, and he was accordingly deposed. The transaction 
was wholly illegal, and in direct violation of the canons of 
the Church, according to which a pope can be deposed only 
on two counts, viz., apostasy from the faith and obstinate per- 
sistence in heresy; and by only one tribunal, viz., an ecumen- 
ical council. Hence the bishops introduced into the sentence 
of deposition a clause embodying an axiom which might 
serve as a principle to justify their course. "An unprece- 
dented evil," said they, " demands an unprecedented remedy." 

Two days after the so-called deposition of John, Leo, a 
layman, and previously chancellor of the Roman Church, 
was, by the influence of the Emperor, elected Pope, and, after 
taking orders without observing the interstices, ascended 
the papal throne under the name of Leo Vlll. After the 
departure of Otho, John, who had still quite a party devoted 
to his interests, returned to Rome, retaliated on his enemies, 
and drove out the antipope. He next assembled a synod, at 
which sixteen bishops and twelve cardinal priests were pres- 
ent, the majority of whom had already taken part in the for- 
mer synod, declared the acts of the latter body null and of no 
effect, deposed and excommunicated Leo, and pronounced his 
ordination invalid. 

No sooner had John gained this triumph over his enemies 
than ho again went back to his former licentious habits and 
unseemly excesses. But, though God may tolerate such 
things for a time, his vengeance usually overtakes one in the 
end. John was suddenly stricken down with cerebral apo- 

in Mansi, T. XVII I., p. 466 sq. liarduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 627. Conf. Baro- 
nius ad a. 962 and Natnl. Alex. h. e. ad saec. IX. et X., diss. XVI. 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 305 

plexy, and died, at the end of eight days, without being able 
to receive the Holy Viaticum (May 14, a. d. 964). 

Notwithstanding that the Eomaus had taken the oath of 
fidelity to Otho, they hated the Germans cordially; and when 
John had died, instead of closing the old and preventing a 
new schism by choosing Leo VIII. to succeed to him, thoy 
elected (a. d. 964) Benedict V., whom they swore to defend, 
even against the Emperor himself. Even German historians 
concede that this Pope was both learned and virtuous — recom- 
mendations not very common in that age. 

No sooner had Otho been informed of these events than he 
again set out for Eome. He besieged the city with a power- 
ful army, and the inhabitants, yielding to famine rather than 
the sword, opened the gates to him, June 23, a. d. 964. 

Otho immediately convoked a synod, at which the bishops 
of Lorraine, Italy, and Saxony were present. Benedict was 
summoned before this body, and was forced, to go through 
the farce of having himself deposed and degraded, after 
which he was sent into exile to Hamburg. 

It must be conceded that, whatever other faults Leo VIII. 
may have had, ingratitude to his imperial benefactor was not 
one of them. It is said that he published a decree " granting 
to Otho and his successors, forever, the privilege of naming 
whom they liked to succeed to them in the kingdom of Italy; 
of appointing the incumbent of the Holy See, and of investing 
archbishops and bishops." Should any refuse to acknowl- 
edge the propriety of placing such plenary powers in the 
hands of this temporal prince, he was threatened with "ex- 
communication, perpetual banishment, or death." ' Whether 

'The pretended Constitutio Leon. VIII., in an abridged form, in Gratian., P. 
I., dist. LXIII., c. 23 : In synodo congregata Eomae in ecclesia S. Salvatoris. 
Ad exemplum B. Hadriani — qui domino Carolo — ^patriciatus dignitatem ac ordi- 
nationem apostolicae sedis et investituram Episcoporum concessit (see above, p. 
185, n, 2), ego quoque Leo Episcopus — cum toto clero a^ ilomano populo con- 
stituimus et confirmamus atque largimurdom.Ottoni primo, Eegi Teutonicorum, 
ejusquo suceessoribus hujus regni Italiae in perpetvium facultatem eligendi suc- 
cessorem, atque summae sedis apostolicae Pontifleem ordinandi, ac per lioc arcbi- 
epif copos sive episcopos, ut ipsi ab eo investituram accipiant, et consecrationem 
unde debent, etc. But Barordits and Fagi justly declare this document to be 
VOL. II — 20 



306 Period 2. Efoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 2. 

all this be true or not, it is certain that, from this time for- 
ward, the Emperors interfered more than they had previously 
done in the election of popes, to the great detriment of the 
Church and the Holy See. 

On the death of Leo VIIL, in the beginning of April, a. d. 
9f)5, the Romans requested the Emperor to restore Benedict; 
l)nt, while the matter was still under consideration, the latter 
died (July 5, a. d. 965). 

The Roman clergy and people now assembled in presence 
of the imperial embassadors, Lnitpraud, Bishop of Cremona, 
and Otgar, Bishop of Spire, and chose John, Bishop of E'arui 
(a. d. 965-972), a protege of the powerful family of the Cres- 
centians, which was then, for the first time, coming into 
prominence in Italy, to succeed to Benedict. At his conse- 
cration he took the name of John XIII. 

A party of discontented Roman nobles, who had taken 
offense at the boldness with which the new Pope asserted and 
maintained his royal prerogatives, stirred up an insurrection 
within the city, seized upon John, and cast him into prison. 
He was shortly delivered by the opposite party of the Cres- 
centians, after which he took refuge at the court of Pandolf, 
Prince of Capua. Otho, hearing of the indignity that had 
been put upon the Pope, again marched into Italy, for the 
third time, and inflicted summary punishment on the authors 
of this insurrection. Of thirteen who had taken a principal 
part in it, some were beheaded, some hanged, and some de- 
prived of sight (a. d. 967). The Emperor caused synods to 
be held at Rome and Ravenna, and, at the latter, restored to 

interpolated. Muratori (Hist, of Ital., Pt. V., p. 510) says that it is an invention 
cf a later age; but Pcrir. (Monum. Germ., T. IV., Pt. II., p. IGO sq.), Donniges, 
Giesebrccid, Pertz, Gfrorer, and Floss (see Eraus' Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 261) defend 
it .IS autbcntic; their position, however, is scarcely tenable. Cf. Diinniges. Ad- 
Hilary of German Law, cd. by P.ankc, Vol. I., Pt. III., p. 102. The so-called 
"Privilegiiim of Leo VIII.," conferred upon Otho I., recently published by 
Floss in an altered and cnlarrjcd form, is certainly a fabrication, dating from tho 
epoch of the ppntest concerning Investitures. The very manuscript is not older 
than the clpyanth century. No less spurious is Leonis VIII. ccssio donationum 
I^om. Eccl., in FcrU, T. IV., Pt. II., p. 1G8 sq. For particulars concerning the 
various /orHis and the contents of this Dinloma, consult Hefele's Contrib., Vol. I., 
p. 268-273. 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 307 

the Pope the city itself, and all those portions of the exerchate 
that had been seized by the last kings of Italy. But these 
can not have remained long in the power of the Holy See, 
for shortljf afterward we find the Venetians in possession of 
Ferrara, Comacchio, Kavenna, and other cities of the ex- 
archate. 

The Pope now crowned Otho II., a youth only fourteen 
years of age, who, throughout the whole course of his life, 
proclaimed, both by word and deed, and by the adoption of 
the symbolical Imperial Globe^ surmounted by a cross, which 
his father had already impressed upon all his own seals, the 
great principle that an alliance between Charch and State is 
essential. 

For long after he had passed away, a grateful people held 
his memory in benediction ; and it was a common saying 
among them that, after Charlemagne, no one had worn the 
imperial crown with more honor, or had had the conversion 
of Pagan nations, the restoi-ation of order, and the progress 
and glory of the Church more at heart. And this, it was 
said, should be ascribed to the fact that he sought not his 
own glory, but that of his Savior. He therefore justly mer- 
ited the title of " Great," which posterity has willingly be- 
stowed upon him. Some modern authors have attempted to 
show that Otho II. respected neither the freedom nor the pos- 
sessions of the Church, but the proofs brought forward in 
fiupport of the charge are not sufficient to establish it. The 
epitaph upon his sarcophagus is probably nearer the truth: 

"A Christian and a King indeed was he, 
Who here within this marble lies enshrined; 
His country's glory and an Empire's pride, 
Whose loss a grieved and grateful world deplores." 

On the death of Otho I. (a. d. 973), a fresh insurrection 
broke out in Rorae.^ Crescentius, the grandson of Theodora, 

- It is commonly, hut erroneously, asserted, that this so-called JSIondc, or 
Globus Imperialis, was first presented by Benedict VIII to the Emperor 
Henry II.. in the year 1014. The Monde consisted of a globe of gold, around 
the center of which ran a zone. To cither side of this was attached a quad- 
rant, both of which met on top, and held the gold cross, that surmounted the 
globe, in position. 

■'On Otho II., see Giesebrecht, Vol. II., p. 567-607. 



308 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

roused the indignation of the people against foreign domina- 
tion, and, to avenge themselves, they seized Pope Benedict 
VI., whose election had taken place in presence of the em- 
bassadors oi Othj II. (a. d. 973-983), cast him into prison, 
and murdered him. Cardinal Boniface Franco, who had 
been at the bottom of this plot, was then placed upon the 
papal throne, under the name of Boniface VII., by the party 
of the Crescentians ; but, after having with difficulty main- 
tained himself for one month and twelve days, he was forced 
to seek safety in flight. , He fled to Constantinople, taking 
with him a large quantity of the treasure of St. Peter's 
Church. Donus II. was then elected Pope, but survived his 
election only four days. 

It was now the wish of Otho II. to place upon the papal 
throne Majolus, Al'>bot of Clugny ; but this holy man, believ- 
ing that it would be difficult for one of his pacifle habits of 
life to rule an insubordinate people like the Pomans, declined 
the distinguished honor. The choice then fell upon the Bishop 
of Sutri, who took the name of Benedict VII. (a. d. 974-983). 
Ilis election was approved by the Emperor, Otho II., and, 
during his pontificate, the Church was governed with vigor 
and discretion. He was succeeded by Peter, Bishop of Pavia 
and chancellor to Otho, who took the name of John XIV. 
By the death of Otho, which happened December 7, a. d. 
983, John was deprived of the only person powerful enough 
to enable him to maintain his position in Rome. 

Boniface now returned from Constantinople, and, supported 
by a powerful party within the city, seized the Pope, and shut 
him up in the Castle of St. Angelo, where he died of hunger, 
in the year 984. Happily, Cardinal Boniface was not long 
permitted to exercise his arbitrary authority. He died a few 
months later on, in the same year, and the indignities which 
the populace put upon his dead body may be taken as an 
index of the hatred which they entertained for him. He was 
sncceeded by John XV., who, finding the exactions of Cres- 
eontius JSTumentanus (Cencius), the self-styled Patrician and 
Consul of Rome, intolerable, invited Otho III. (a. d. 983-1002) 
to come to his aid. Otho set out for Italy in the year 990; 
but, before his departure, he greatly oflended the Germans, 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 309 

by giving expression to a design of transferring the seat of his 
(jreat Empire to Borne. When he had reached Eavenua, learn- 
ing that John XV. had died, he instructed the Eoman em- 
bassy which had come to consult him, though he was not yet 
Emperor, on the choice of a Pope, to bestow the office upon 
his nephew Bruno, the aulic chaplain, who, though only 
twenty-four years of age, was an accomplished linguist and 
a respectable scholar. The Koman people and clergy, acting 
on the advice of the Emperor, raised Bruno to the Papal 
Chair — the first German upon whom that honor was ever 
bestowed. He took the name of Gregory V. (a. d. 996-999), 
and, in his turn, crowned Otho III. Emperor and Protector 
of the Holy Roman Church. Harmony was once more re- 
stored between the Church and the Empire, and both Pope 
and Emperor, when adopting measures for the good of the 
Cliurch,^ wisely mistrusted their youth and inexperience, and 
took counsel of such prudent and distinguished men as Wil- 
ligis, Archbishop of Mentz ; Bernward, Bishop of Hildesheim ; 
Adalbert, Bishop of Prague ; Abo, Abbot of Flenry ; Notker, 
oj' Liege, and Gerbert, the most illustrious and learned of 
tli.em all. 

During the reigns of Louis Outre-Mer, Lothaire (a. d. 954- 
986), and his grandson Louis V. (jA. d. 987), the last kings 
of the Carlovingian line, the West-Prankish Empii-e had 
passed completely under the control of Hugh the Great, 
Count of Paris, and, after their death, his son Hugh Capet' 
was elected king. "With him begins the Bj jurbon dynast}'-, 
and from the year 987, the date of his ascension to the throne, 
the name of " France" has been in use. The country was then 
divided into a number of fiefs, of which those immediately 
dependent on the crown, were the four dukedoms of Francia, 
Normandy (including Bretagne), Aquitaine or Guieune, and 
Burgundy; and the three counties of Toulouse, Flanders, 
and Vermandois. There was also a distinction made at the 
same time between Northern and Southern France, founded on 



' Orerjorii V. vita et epist., in Mansi, T. XIV., p. 109 sq. Hardidn, T. VI.,. 
Pt. I., p. 739 sq. Of. Bofler, German Popes, Pt. I., p. 97-195. '■*Giesehrediif 
Vol. II., p. 607-770. 

'So called from Cappa, or the robe which he wore as lay abbot. (Tk.) 



310 Period 2. EiMch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

the difl'ereiice of language (langue d'oui, Franpaise and the 
langue d'oe or Provenjal), manners, and legal codes} 

Hugh also renewed the friendly relations which had for- 
merly subsisted between these countries and the Holy See. 

During the reign of Hugh Capet, Arnulph, Archbishop of 
Rheims, had been deposed, and his see given to Gerbert, the 
tutor of the young prince Robert; but when the latter came 
to the throne, Arnulph was, by the authority of Pope Greg- 
ory v., restored to his archbishopric (a. d. 996). Robert was 
also finally persuaded to separate from Bertha, the daughter 
of Conrad I., Duke of Burgundy, and his owx\ fourth cousin, 
whom he had married without having first obtained a dispen- 
sation from the Holy See. But the separation was not effected 
at once, or without difficulty. Eobert, though a very relig- 
ious man, was so devoted to his relative, that he could not 
bring himself to give her up on the first warning, but having 
been excommunicated, he at last yielded, in order to avoid 
the consequences that would follow having his kingdom laid 
under interdict.^ 

Scarcely had the Emperor, Otho III., quitted Rome, and 
returned to Germany, when Crescentius stirred up a fresh 
insurrection, drove Pope Gregory from Rome, and placed the 
usurper Philagathos, Bishop of Piacenza, a Greek from Cala- 
bria, upon the Papal throne (a. d. 997). But Gregory, though 
young, showed a becoming firmness in this crisis, and pro- 
nounced sentence of excommunication on Crescentius. Learn- 
ing what had taken place, Otho hastened across the Alps, 
entered Rome in company with Gregory, and captured and 
beheaded Crescentius and twelve of his principal adherents. 
The antipope John XVI. was punished after the fashion of 
his country. His nose was cut ofl", 14s tongue wrenched from 
his mouth, and his eyes burnt out; and in this condition he 

^PUtz, Mediaeval Hist., p. 72. (Tr.) 

2 "We find in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 103 sq., the acts concerning the relations 
in which Gerbert and Arnulf stood to each other. Cf. p. 173 sq. Harduin, 
T. VI., Pt. I., p. 723. Cf. the notae Severini Binii, in Mansi, 1. c. On Robert's 
marriage, conf. Mansi, T. XIX., p. 225. HelgaUlus Floriacens. monach., vita 
Roberti, c. 17 {Bouquet, T. X., p. 107). 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 311 

was cast into a dungeon, where he was left to repent of his 
ambition, and to die a miserable death. 

Gregory labored zecdously and unceasingly for the restoration 
of ecclesiastical life, luhich had now well-nigh become extinct. 
When at Rome, he preached in three languages, and it was 
his custom to feed twelve poor men every Sunday. While in 
the very thickest of his labors, his life of usefulness was cut 
short by premature death (a. d. 999). 

Through the influence of Otho, Gerbert, his second tutor, 
was elected to succeed to Gregory, and ascended the Papal 
throne under the name of Sylvester II. (a. d. 999-1003). He 
was the first French Pope. Born of humble parents, at Auril- 
lac, in Auvergne, he entered the monastery of that place, and, 
after remaining there for a time, went to Cordova to complete 
his scientific studies. He was a man of great talents, which 
ho put to the best account, and his proficiency was such in all 
branches of knowledge, that he was not only abreast, but in 
advance of his age. Having already filled with honor, suc- 
cessively, the archiepiscopal sees of Eheims and Ravenna 
under trying and difiicult circumstances, he now exercised 
the pontifical authority with prudence and moderation.* After 
his accession, Otho, by a new diploma, added eight counties 
to the patrimony of St. Peter.^ 

Sylvester II. has the honor of having been the first who 
conceived and put forth the idea of arming Christendom for 
the purpose of delivering the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of 
the infidel.^ 

In the year 1002, the Emperor Otho III. died suddenly, 
without issue, at Ravenna, when he was only twenty-two 
years old.* Though a young man of good parts and strong 

' Sylvesiri II. vita et epist., in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 240 sq. Harduin, T. VI , 
Pt. I., p. 759 sq. Conf. Hock, Gerbert or Pope Sylvester II. and his Ag3, 
Vienna, 1837. Biidinger, Gerbert's place in Science and Politics, Cassel, 1851. 
Olleris, Oeuvres de Gerbert, Paris, 1867, in 4to.; ejusdem, Vie de Gerbert, Paris, 
1867, in 12mo. On the accusation of Magic, with which popular superstition 
charged Sylvester II., see the apology of an ancient author, in Hod:, p. 165. 

^ Gfrorer and Pertz defend the authenticity of this diploma. 

^ Sylvesiri II. ep., A. D. 999, " Ex persona Hierosolymae devastatae ad univer- 
sftlem ecclesiam." (Muraiori, Script., T. III., p. 400. Bouquet., T. X., p. 426.) 

< It is asserted that he was poisoned by Stephania, the widow of Crescentiua, 



312 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

character, he was not wholly exempt from the influences of 
his age. There was a' tingle of asceticism in his nature, and 
he frequently withdrew, for a time, from the hustle and dis- 
traction of public life, to give himself up to prayer and med- 
itation. His mind was filled with chimerical and extravagant 
plans, which the shortness of his life prevented him from at- 
tempting to carry into efiect. The idea, then prevalent, that 
the end of the world was at hand, was not without its influ- 
ence on his mind; and, as people had given up to unseemly 
fear at the appi'oaeh of the dreaded year 1000, so, after it had 
passed and the world went on as before, they indulged in feel- 
ings and expressions of unwonted joy. 

Educated under the supervision of three female relatives — 
Theophania, his mother; his grandmother, Adelheid; and 
liis aunt, Mathlda,Abhess of Quedlinhurg — he had conceived 
a taste for foreign customs and the splendid court-ceremonial 
of Byzantium. Moreover, acting under the counsel of G-er- 
bert, St. Romualdus of Vallombrosa, St. Odilo of Clugny, and 
Bernward, Bishop of Hildesheim, Avhose fine schemes had a 
great fascination for his youthful imagination, he made plans, 
and proceeded to carry them into execution, for the re- 
establishment of the Roman Empire. The design was not 
looked upon with favor by the Romans, who did not care to 
see the Rome of the Popes changed into the Rome of the 
Caesars of the Western Empire, and they consequently did 
all in their power to throw obstacles in the way of the Em- 
peror. ]!^or were they the only persons who opposed it. In 
Germany a strong party of loyalists, headed by Willigis, 
Archbishop of Mentz, offered the most determined resistiftice 
to this attempt to transfer the capital of the empire to Rome. 
This afi'air was the occasion of another controversy, which 
would seem petty and despicable were it not for the high 
character of the persons engaged in it. It related to the 
jurisdiction over the aristocratic nunnery of Gandersheim, 
presided over by the haughty Sophia, daughter of Otho 11. 

who deliberately set herself to win the affections of the young emperor, that 
she might have an opportunity of avenging the death of her husband, whom 
the former had beheaded for participation in the conspiracy against Greg- 
ory V. (Te.) 



§ 188. The Popes under the Saxon Emperors. 313 

and Theophania, who refusexl to allow her church to be conse- 
crated by the bishop of the diocese, and insisted on having a me- 
tropolitan to perform the function.* The German party sided 
with her in opposition to Pope Sylvester II. and Bishop Bern- 
ward. 

There are not wanting those who confidently assert that 
the revival of the Empire and its incorporation with the 
kingdom of Germany has been a positive injury and source 
of weakness to the latter. But if, on the one hand, it be 
true that the Popes, while always the faithful allies of the 
German Emperors when there was question of opposing and 
putting down a third power, have, when such a contingency 
did not exist, been the steady enemies of imperialism ; and that 
to retain German domination in Italy necessitated the carry- 
ing on of an uninterrupted war, which taxed the greatest ener- 
gies of the German people f it is, on the other hand, equally true 
that the papacy owed its rise from the corruption which sur- 
rounded it, and its liberation from the oppressive yoke of the 
Italian nobles, to the revival of the empire; and that the gov- 
ernment of theOthos never could have acquired the influence 
which it wielded in European afi^airs, had the conviction not 
been strong upon men's minds, throughout the whole West, that 
no political unity, in the highest sense of these words, was pos- 
sible, which in its constitution ignored the Universal Church.^ 

Sylvester did not long survive Otho III. He died in the 
year following (a. d. 1003), and with him perished, for the 
time, the hopes of the German party in Eome. The parti- 
sans of the Count of Tusculum and of the house of the Cres- 
centians again regained the ascendancy and controlled the 
papal elections. The first occupant of the Roman See, after 
the death of Sylvester, was John XVII. (a. d. 1003), of the 
Tusculan family, and the next two, John XVIII. (a. d. 1003- 
1009), and Sergius IV. (a. d. 1009-1012), of the Crescentian 
family. The former family now gained the upperhand, and. 



1 Conf. Freiburg's Eccl. Cyclopaedia, Vol. XI., p. 1105.-1107; Pr. tr., Vol. EX., 

p. 281. 
•^Syhel, The German Nation and the Empire, Dusseldorf, 1862, p. 48. (Tk.) 
"Some considerable additions have here been made from Kraui Oh. Hist., 

Vol. II., pp. 261, 262. (Te.) 



314 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

for some years, raised whom they would to the See of St. 
J'ctcr. Benedict VIII. (a. d. 1012-1024) was indeed a mem- 
ber of the liouse of Tnsculum ; bnt, for all that, did his best 
to serve the Church faithfully, until he was driven from Rome 
bj the Crescentians, who set up in his place a certain Gregory. 
Benry II. of Bavaria, a grandson of Henry the Fowler, had, 
chiefly through the exertion of Archhishop Willigis, been 
elected Emperor (a. d. 1002-1024), and upon him Benedict, in 
his distress, called for assistance. He set out for Rome in 
the year 1013, and arrived the year following. Having prom- 
ised to defend the Church of Rome, and to be faithful to the 
Pope and his successors, both he and bis queen, Cunigunde, 
were invested with the imperial dignity.' Benedict displayed 
considerable energy in his contests with the Saracens, whom 
he defeated, and, with the aid of the Pisans and Genoese, ex- 
pelled from the island of Sardinia. 

Henry II., besides being a brave and chivalrous, was also 
an extremely religious man. It was his custom, ou visiting a 
city for the first time, to repair at once to a church dedicated 
to the Mother of God, and there pour out his soul in prayer. 
He at times grew so weary of the world that, on one occa- 
sion, while visiting the abbey of Verdun, he desired to lay 
aside his impei'ial robes and put on the habit of a monk, but 
was dissuaded by the Prior from carrying out his purpose. 
He kept up the most intimate relations with the Pope, to 
whom he secured by diploma all the grants that had been 
formerly made to the Holy See in Italy, and in Germany 
the abbey of Fulda and such other cloisters as had been 
under the immediate jurisdiction of Rome.^ 

In the year 1019, Benedict made a second visit to Germany, 
to consecrate the beautiful cathedral which the Emperor had 
built at Bamberg. A new bishopric was also established at 
this city, the revenues of which the Emperor gave to the 
Pope. 

lAntequam induceretur ab eodem (papa) interrogatus : si fdeHa esse vellet 
Romanac patronus et defensor eeclesiae; sibi autem suisque successoribus per 
omnia fldelis respondit. Et tune ab eodem unctionem et coronam — suscepit.' 

' Hofler, German Popes, Pt. II., p. 8G7, gives a list of the churches and clois- 
ters tributary to the Holy See. 



§ 189. The Popes under the Franconia'ii Emperors. 815 

Another evidence of the harmonious relations which ex- 
isted between these two princes is to be found in the fact that 
Henry gave the force of imperial laws to the decrees enacted 
by Benedict, at the Synod of JPavia (a. d. 1018), for the re- 
pression of the vices of simony and concubinage, so common 
in that age. But, before a thorough reformation could be 
effected, Henry II. was carried to the grave. He died July 
13, A. D. 1024, at Grona, near Qottingeu. "Let Europe 
mourn," writes a contemporary author, "for she has suffered 
the loss of her chief; let Home lament, for she has been de- 
prived of a i^rotector ; let the whole world deplore the death 
of Henry II., the defender of Europe, the terror of the dis- 
turbers of the public peace, and the foe of every form of 
despotism." ' 

He was, according to his own wish, interred in the cathe- 
dral of Bamberg, where, nine years later on, his holy wife, 
Cunigunde, who, upon her husband's death, had entered a 
Benedictine convent, was laid by his side. Heniy was the 
last of the line of Saxon Emperors, who, beginning with 
Henry I., had reigned for a century. 

The States Ecclesiastical and Secular met and elected Con- 
rad of Franconia, Emperor. 

§ 189. The Popes under the Franconian Mmperors. 

TMeiinar, Chron., in Periz, Y. Olaher Radulph. (monach. Cluniac, about 
1046), Hist, stii temp, [du Chesne, T. IV.) Wippo (capellan. Conrad, et Henr. 
III.), de vita Conradi Salic. (Pistorius, T. III.) Bonizo (Episc. Sutrien. 1 1039), 
lib. ad amic, seu de persecut. eccl. m(OerfeUi Script, rer. Boioar., T. II.) Migne, 
T. CXLII.; Desiderii, Abb. Casin. (Victoris III. tl086), Dialogi, libb. III. 
(Max. bibl., T. XVIII.) Jaffi, Bibl. rer. Germ! II., Berl. 1865. Stejizel, Hist, 
of Germ, under the Franconian Emperors, Lps. 1827 sq., 2 vols. Giesehrecht, 
Vol. II., p. 213-336, concerning Conrad; V. II., p. 337 sq., on Henry III. Cf. 
Bamberger, Synchronist. Hist., Vol. VI. Ofrorer, Ch. H., Vol. IV., p. 209-G27. 
Hijflcr, German Popes, 2 vols., Eatisb. 1839. Cf. Will, The Beginning of tha 
Restoration of the Church from the Eleventh Century, Marburg, 1859-1864. 

Benedict VIII., who died in the same year as the Emperor 
Henry, was succeeded by his brother, under the name of 

1 Damierger, Vol. V., p. 889-890, and Gfrorer, Ch. H., Vol. IV.,' p. 1-209. 
(Mesebreeht, Hist, of the Period of the German Emperors, Vol. II., p. 13-210, 
Loger, Henry II. and Joseph II. in their relation to the Church, Vienna, 1869. 



316 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Cha'pter 2. 

John XIX. (a. d. 1024). This Pope placed the imperial crown 
{k. D. 1027) upon the head of the German King, Conrad II. 
(a. d. 1024-1039), the first representative of the Franco-Salic 
line, who had already conquered the kingdom of Lombardy. 
Contemporary writers of every shade of opinion represent 
John XIX. as zealous in the administration of ecclesiastical 
affairs and relentless in the pursuit and punishment of bri- 
gands. But the Emperor, who was by no means indifferent 
to the abuses which then existed, did not, like his predecessor, 
co-operate with the Pope in carrying out the decrees for the 
reformation of morals and the enforcement of ecclesiastical 
discipline. Conrad looked carefully after the interests of his 
subjects, and, in the course of his reign, made a journey 
through Germany, for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge 
of their condition, administering justice, and removing such 
grievances and hardships as might exist. In order the better 
to eff'ect these ends, he established the Truce of God (Treuga 
Dei), by which the right of feud for the redress of private 
wrongs was suspended during the seasons of Advent and 
Lent, and on week days especially consecrated to the Passion 
and Resurrection of our Lord, or during the time interven- 
ing between the sunset of Wednesday and the sunrise of 
Monday. 

The abbey church at Limburg, in the Hardt, and the unfin- 
ished cathedral of Spire, with its immense vaults in Byzan- 
tine style, as well as many other churches and monasteries, 
prove that Henry w^as possessed of taste and generosity rival- 
ing, if not surpassing, any similar qualities in his predecessors. 

Six members of the house of Tusculumhad already been forced 
upon the papal throne, and now Count Alberic, the brother of 
Benedict VIII. and John XIX., succeeded, by means of un- 
bounded bi'ibery, in having his son, Theophylactus, a young 
man of only eighteen (12?), but far more proficient in vice 
than became one of his age, elected Pope, under the name of 
Benedict IX. (a. d. 1033-1044). For eleven years did this 
young profligate disgrace the chair of St. Peter. One of his 
suci essors,' in. speaking of him, said " that it was only with 

' Destderim, Abbot of Monte Cassino, as Pope Victor III. (Te.) 



§ 189. The Popes under the Franconian Emperors. 317 

feelings of horror he could bring himself to relate how dis- 
graceful, outrageous, and execrable was the conduct of this 
man after he had taken priest's orders." The Romans put 
up with his misconduct and vices for a time; but, seeing that 
he grew worse instead of better, from day to day, they finally- 
lost all patience with him, and drove him from the city. 

The Emperor Conrad had, in the meantime, come into 
Italy to suppress a revolt that had broken out at Milan, and 
was at this time at Cremona, whither Benedict went in order 
to obtain his assistance. He represented to the Emperor that 
he was an innocent and an injured person, and, to further 
recommend himself to the latter, excommunicated the Arch- 
bishop of Milan, who had taken part in the revolt. Conrad 
then conducted him back to Rome and reinstated him in his 
office (a. d. 1038); but, on the death of the former, Benedict 
was again forced to leave the city, and his enemies, by mak- 
ing liberal distributions of money among the people, recon- 
ciled public opinion to the election of an antipope in the 
person of John, Bishop of Sabina, who took the name of 
Sylvester III. (a. d. 1044.) After an absence of a few months, 
Benedict was brought back by the members of the powerful 
family to which he belonged ; but he had scarcely been fairly 
seated on his throne when he gave fresh offense to the people 
by proposing a marriage between himself and his cousin. 

The father of the young lady refused to give his consent to 
the proposed union, unless Benedict would first resign the 
papacy, and the archpriest John, a man of piety and rectitude 
of life, fearing the consequences so great a scandal would bring 
upon the Church, also offered him a great sum of money if 
he would withdraw to private life. Benedict, who longed for 
privacy, that he might the more fully indulge his passions, 
listened with pleasure to these suggestions, and finally con- 
sented to resign and retire to live as a private citizen, in one 
of the castles belonging to his family. 

It was the honest purpose of the archpriest John to raise 
the Holy See from the degradation to which it had been sunk 
by the tyranny and bribery of the nobles ; but, at the same 
time, conscious that the only way to defeat them was to outbid 
them in the purchase of the venal populace, he distributed 



818 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

money lavishly, but judiciously, and thus secured his own 
election. He took the name of Gregory VI. But the love of 
power and notoriety soon grew upon Benedict. He repented 
of the step he had taken, and, coming forth from the privacy 
which had now lost its fascination, and supported by his 
powerful relatives, he again put forth his claims to the 
papacy. The^-e were now three persons clainaing the same 
dignity. This condition of afi'airs brought grief to the hearts 
of the well-disposed of all parties, and they coming together, 
invited Plenry III. of Grermany, the successor to Conrad (a. d. 
1039-1056), to put an end to the confusion and restore order. 
On his arrival in Italy, he caused a synod to be convened at 
Pavia (a. d. 1046); but, as the bishops refused to condemn the 
Pope without having first heard him in his own defense, the 
Emperor caused a second one to be held at Sutri,^ at which 
Sylvester III. was condemned and ordered to retire to cloister, 
and there pass the remainder of his days. Benedict's claims, 
owing to his resignation, were not taken into account,^ and 
Gregory came forward, and, on his own motion, declared 
that, though he had had the best intentions in aiming at the 
papacy, there could be no question that his election had been 
secured "by disgraceful bribery and accompanied by simoni- 
acal heresy,' and that, in consequence, he should of right be 
deprived of the papal throne, and did hereby resign it." Ac- 
companied by his disciple, liildebrand, he afterward retired 
to the monastery of Clugny. It is evident that the respect 
and reverence of the people for the dignity and authority of 
the Head of the Church must have been deep-seated, and the 
result of a complete and overwhelming conviction, when they 
were not impaired by the disgraceful circumstances just 
related. The words of Leo the Great were verified then, 
if ever. " The dignity of St. Peter" said he, ''does not lose 

iThe Acts, in Mansi, T. SIX;, p. 617 sq. Hardiiin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 921 sq. 
Conf. Engelhardt, Observationes de Synod. Sutrionsi., Erlang. 1834, 4to. Olcse- 
hrecht, Vol. II., p. 399 sq. «' Watierich, T. I., p. 71-82, whero also the Laus 
Ue'irici III. imperatoris, by Peter Damlan. 

' Ddllinger, Ch. H., Vol. II., p. 144. (Tk.) 

3 A dangerous or bad practice whiob might be traced back to an herdicd 
principle, was, in the Middle Ages, called a heresy. (Tk.) 



§ 189. The Popes under the Frayiconian Emperors. 319 

that character even when lodged m an unworthy successor to his 
office." 

The Romans had sworn that they would not choose another 
Pope during the lifetime of Gregory, and they therefore begged 
Henry III., as he with his successors enjoyed the title of Pa- 
trician of Rome, to make choice of one. Henry selected foi 
the office Suidger, Bishop of Bamherg, who took the name 
of Clement II.' (a. d. 1046-1047.) The newly elected Pope 
now placed the imperial crown upon Henry and his consort.' 
At a synod, held in Rome in the year 1047, at which the Em- 
peror also assisted, decrees were passed, declaring that any 
one who should purchase a benefice, or procure ordination by 
bribery, was thereby excommunicated ; and that such as 
should accept orders from a simoniaeal bishop, should un- 
dergo an ecclesiastical penance of forty days. This energetic 
work, at the beginning of his reign, gave promise that had 
Clement lived, he would have pursued the abuses which then 
existed in the Church, and particularly that of simony, until 
he had fully corrected them. But unfortunately he was not 
spared. Upon the representation of Peter Damian that the 
clergy, and notably those of the Roraagna, were frightfully 
degenerate and corrupt, he set out to try, by personal influ- 
ence, to bring them back to a sense of their obligations and 
the dignity of their office; and, while engaged in this work 
of love, took sick and died, at the monastery of St. Thomas, 
at Aposella, October 9, 1047. 

Hearing of his death, Benedict IX. again contrived, with 
the aid of his powerful relatives, to gain possession of the 
Holy See, which he retained for eight months. On the death 
of Clement, an embassy at once set out from Rome to bring 
the intelligence to the Emperor, and request him to appoint 
as pope, Alinard, Archbishop of Lyons ; but the latter having 
declined, they settled upon Poppo, Bishop of Brixen, who 
took the name of Dam.asus II? On the very day on whii;h 
Damasus ascended the Papal throne, Benedict, seized with 



^ Clemeniis II. vita ot epist., in Mansi, T. XIX,, p. 619 sq.; in Harduin, T. VI., 
Pt. I., p. 923. Conf. Hojler, German Popes, Pt. I., p. 199-268. 

'Vamasi IL vita, in Mans!, T. XIX., p. 629. Conf. Hojler, in 1. 1., Pt. I., p. 
269-273. 



320 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 2. 

remorse, and desiring to do penance for the irregularities of 
his past life, withdrew to the monastery of Crypta, or Grotta 
Ferrata, near Frascati, where he spent the remainder of his 
days, and died A. D. 1065. 

The newly elected Pope died at Palestrina, twenty-three 
days after his elevation. His sudden death gave occasion to 
the rumor that he had come to his end by poison. This, 
together with the fact that the Church now seemed to be, if 
anything, worse off than ever, made the Papacy an object of 
little attraction to a German. 

§ 190. Continuation — Popes Elected through the Influence of 

Hildebrand. 

Leo Osiiens. (bibliotheoar. at Monteoassino, and later Cardinal Bishop of Os- 
tia), Chronic. Casin. (Muraiori, Script., T. IV.) Petri Damiani, Epist. et opusc. 
ed. Cajetani, Eomae, 1606 sq.; Bassani, 1783, 4 T. in fol. Migne, Ser. Lat., T. 
144-145. Bonizo in 1. c. Desiderius, 1. 1. 

"■ Voir/i, Hildebrand as Gregory VII. and his Age (Weimar, 1815) ; Vienna, 
1819, 2d ed., 1846, at the beginning ; especially, Hofler, 1. c. On the German 
Popes, Leo IX., Victor II., Stephen IX., Nicholas II. Gieseirecht, Vol. II., p. 
445 sq. Gfrorer, Pope Gregory VII., Vol. I., p. 560 sq. ■•■■• Will, The Begin- 
nings of the Eestoration of the Church in the Eleventh Century, Marburg, 
1859-1864, 2 pts. 

The delegates who had set out from Eome on the death of 
Damasus II., met the Emperor at the great Diet of Worms 
(a. d. 1048). The latter conferred the Papal dignity upon 
Bruno, Bishop of Toul, his own uncle, a man universally be- 
loved, and indefatigable in his efforts to do good, who was 
with difficulty prevailed upon to bear so heavy a burden. 
The monk Hildebrand, who had been selected as his compan- 
ion, refused to accompany him, partly because he. loved the 
peace and quiet of his monastery, but chiefly because he be- 
lieved that it was the purpose of Bruno to govern the Church 
according to the principles of worldly wisdom and expedience, 
rather than ecclesiastical law.* Bruno, after his appointment, 

1 Leonis IX. vita et epist., in Manst, T. XIX., p. 633 sq. Harduln, T. VI., Pt. 
I., p. 927 sq. Watterich, Pt. I., p. 93-177. Wiberius, Bruno's archdeacon at 
Toul, vita Leon. (Muratorl, T. III., Pt. I.) Brunon. episc. Segn. Vita Leon, 
(ibid,, T. III., Pt. II., and in Watterich, 1. c.) Hofler, 1. c, Pt. II., p. 1-213. 
Uanlder, Leo IX. and his Age, Mentz, 1851. 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Influence of Hildebrand. 321 

set out for Rome in the garb of a pilgrim, in order to receive 
the suffrages of the Roman clergy and people. Having been 
unanimously elected Father of the Christian world, he took 
the name of Leo IX. (a. d. 1049-1054.) He immediately or- 
dained Hildebrand subdeacon, and appointed him adminis- 
trator of the Patrimony of St. Peter, at that time not a very 
acceptable office, as there was not a penny in the Papal treas- 
ury, and no sources to draw from. Henry III. had arbitrarily 
disposed of the estates of the Holy See to the Roman nobility 
and to the Normans, and it was now in such an impover- 
ished condition, that for two years Leo had only the slender 
revenues of the bishopric of Toul upon which to maintain 
the dignity of his court, and, in consequence, many of those 
who had followed him from Germany forsook him, and re- 
turned to their own country. He labored with unceasing 
energy to root out from the clergy the vices of imm.orality 
and simony,^ which were then so prevalent, and so detrimental 
to the interests of the Church, and which Peter Damian has 
painted in colors, if not too lurid, certainly not a shade 
brighter than the reality, in his work entitled " Liber Gomor- 
rhianus." 

A great synod was held in Rome in the year 1049, after the 
close of which Leo put every appliance to work to accomplish 
his purpose. He held national councils, made journeys in 
person through Italy and into France and Germany, and 
where he was not able to go himself, he sent his legates. The 
great majority of the clergy were found guilty of the charges 
that had been imputed to them; many of them were de- 
prived of their benefices and prohibited from officiating, but 

' Leo Ostiens. : Perrarus inveniretur, qui non esset uxoraius vel concuMnatus. 
De stmonia quid dicam? omnes paene ecclesiasticos ordines haeo mortifera bel- 
lua devoraverat, ut qui ejus morsum evaserit, rarus inveniretur. Vita kSt. .loan. 
Gualb. So likewise Desiderii de mirao. St. Bened. dialog., lib. III., at the begin- 
ning : In tantum mala consuetudo adolevit, ut saorae legis auctoritate postposita, 
divina humanaque omnia miscerentur: adeo ut populus electionem et sacerdotes 
consecrationem donumque Spiritus Sancti, quod gratis accipere et dare divina 
auctoritate statutum fuerat, data acceptaque per manus pecunia, ducti avaritia 
venderent, ita ut vix aliquanti invenirentur, qui non hujus simoniacae pestis 
contagione foedati — existerent. 
VOL. II — 21 



322 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Cha'pter 2. 

by far the greater number were only condemned to undergo 
severe penance. 

It would seem that Heaven itself was visibly allied with 
the Pope in this great struggle, for more than one culprit was 
overtaken by Divine justice, and suffered what was generally 
regarded as a signal punishment of God.^ 

The Pope endeavored to rouse and direct the courage of 
the sluggish Pisans against the Saracens, who, under the lead 
of their chief, Mugottus, had already subdued the island of 
Sardinia; and to this end he sent them the standard of St. 
Peter, hoping that the sight of it might inspire them to un- 
dertake a crusade against these daring and aggressive infidels. 
Leo also put himself at the head of an inconsiderable army 
and marched against the ITormans, who, since the year 1017, 
had been steadily gaining possession of the territories belong- 
ing to the Saracens and Greeks in Lower Italy. These con- 
querors acted with merciless rigor toward the inhabitants of 
the conquered territory, sacked their cities, and plundered 
and destroyed their churches and cloisters, and, still pursuing 
their conquests, finally seized upon portions of the patrimony 
of St. Peter, situated in Calabria and Apulia. Leo was indeed 
defeated by an unexpected attack of the ISTormans ; but, for 
all that, he had shortly the happiness of seeing Robert Guis- 
carcl, the notorious chief, at his feet suing for pardon for past 
deeds and begging, a blessing on his future undertakings. 
The Normans also accepted in fief, from the Holy Father, the 
lands they had already conquered, and such as they might in fu- 
ture conquer, from the Saracens in Lower Italy and Sicily. Al- 
though thus busily engaged at home, Leo watched with equal 
care and sol_itude(pver every other country of the Christian 
world. He maintained the most friendly relations with Ed- 
ward, King of England, and advanced the interests of the 
English Church in every way in his power; labored to unite 
the Chnrch of Spain more closely to the Holy See; ofiTered 
his mediation and kind offices to put an end to the seditious 
aud schismatical movement at Constantinople, of which Mi- 
chael Cerularius was the head ; and, in short, did -whatever 



' Conf. Bofler, 1. c, Ft. II., p. 57 et passim. 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Influence of Hildebrand. 323 

might in any way conduce to the prosperity of the State or 
the interests of the Church. His death occurred April 19, 
A. D. 1054, and the loss which the Church then sustained is 
beautifully expressed by a legend, according to which all the 
bells of Christendom tolled spontaneously as soon as he had 
passed out of this world. 

After the death of Leo, Hildebrand, as plenipotentiary of 
the Roman clergy and people, set out for Germany to request 
Henry III. to name a German for the office of Pope. The 
Emperor reluctantly consented to part with his relative and 
counselor, Gebhard, Bishop of Eichstadt, whom he desig- 
nated as his choice, and who, having been elected at E,ome, 
ascended the papal throne under the name of Victor II. (a. d. 
1055-1057.)' Victor, being a man of superior virtue, and 
now possessed of supreme authority, fully realized the hopes 
that Hildebrand had entertained of him. He continued, on 
both sides of the Alps, the combat against the vices of simony 
and immorality, which his predecessor, acting under the ad- 
vice of Hildebrand, had prosecuted with so much vigor. He 
entered upon the work of reformation by holding a synod at 
Florence in May, 1055, the month after his election, in which 
canons were enacted against the prevailing vices. Hilde- 
brand was sent into France, as legate, to complete there the 
ecclesiastical reform commenced by St. Leo, and at Lyons de- 
posed six bishops who had been accused and found guilty of 
simony. The Archbishops of Aix and Aries were also invested 
with legatine authority for the correction of abuses in the south 
of France. In order to combat successfully clerical concubinage 
and simony, this Pope was obliged to go a step beyond what 
had heretofore been done by his predecessors, and demand not 
only the possession, but also the full administration of all 
estates belonging to the Church. He went resolutely to work 
to improve the almost hopeless condition of the Church in 
Italy, France, and Germany. If proof were needed to show 
that his administration was conducted on sound principles and 



1 Vlctoris H. vita et epist., in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 833 eq. Harduln, T. VI., Pt. 
I., p. 1037. Waiierich, T. I., p. 177-188. Cf. Hofler, 1. c, Pt. II., p. 217-268. 
Will, Victor II. as Pope and Administrator of the Empire (Tiibg. Quart. 1862 
p. 185 sq.) 



324 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

directed by enlightened zeal, it might be found in the wise 
enactments of the synods of France and Eorae held during 
his pontificate. He summoned Berengarius before a synod 
held at Tours, to give an explanation of the errors into which 
he had relapsed. He also sent his legates to Constantinople, 
who, by a public and solemn declaration made in the Church 
of Saint Sophia, disclaimed all connection with the Grreek 
Church. The Emperor tienry, apprehending that his days 
were drawing to a close, called the Pope into Germany, and, 
dying shortly after the arrival of the latter, recommended the 
empress Agnes, and his young son, now only five years of 
age, to the protection of the Father of Christendom. Victor 
proved himself worthy of the confidence that had been re- 
posed in him. By the influence which he exercised in virtue 
of his apostolic authority, he composed the difficulties exist- 
ing between the empress and the discontented princes of 
the empire, regulated the affairs of State, and insured the 
succession of the young prince, Henry IV. He quitted Ger- 
many shortly after, and, on his way to Rome, passed through 
Tuscany, and while at Florence, where a number of Italian 
bishops had come to consult with him, fell sick and died, still 
in the prime of life (a. d. 1057). 

Fortunately, the Church gained a powerful ally in Italy by 
the marriage of Godfrey of Lorraine to Beatrice, the widow 
of the Margrave of Tuscany. Frederic, the brother of God- 
frey, who had been appointed Abbot of Monte Cassino by the 
last Pope, was now forcibly, and much against his own will, 
elected and at once consecrated under the name of Stephen IX. 
{X.) (a. d. 1057, 1058.) He continued the measures of reform 
which bad already been undertaken by his two immediate 
predecessors, and, in addition, promulgated severe ordinances 
against the concubinage of ecclesiastics and the marriage of 
persons nearly related by blood.^ 

The elevation of Peter Damian to the cardinalate, under the 
title of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, a title which placed him at 
the head of the Sacred College, was, as it were, the signal for 

' Siephani IX. vita et epist., in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 861 sq. Harduin, T. VI., 
Pt. I., p. 1051 sq. Watterich, T. I., p. 188-202. Bojler, 1. c, Pt. II., p. 269 sq, 
Gfrorer, Gregory VII., Vol. I., p. 562 sq. 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Influence of Hildehrand. 325 

the undertaking of an implacable war against the vices of 
simony and clerogamy. As there was then no representa- 
tive of the imperial dignity, the confirmation of the new 
Pope by the German regency was not sought, nor could it be 
required. Still, lest this exercise of the right of free election 
should be the source of an}' future complications, Pope Ste- 
phen sent the prudent Plildebrand into Germany to offer an 
explanation to the regent Agnes, and to consult with her on 
other ecclesiastical affairs. But the early death of the Pope, 
in 1058, prevented him from bringing these negotiations to a 
close. Before the setting out of the embassy. Pope Stephen 
liad the Romans to promise under oath that, in case he him- 
self should die during Hildebrand's absence, they would not 
proceed to a new election until after his return. Disregard- 
ing this engagement, the Roman nobility and the laxer 
among the clergy, supported by the powerful influence of 
the Tusculan party, got together and elected John, Bishop 
of Velletri,who took the name of Benedict X. Peter Damian, 
and the more conscientious among the cardinals, taught by 
the experience of former scandals to expect naught but evil 
from such a proceeding, protested against the irregularity, 
and were in consequence compelled to leave the city. The 
intrigues of the new factions determined the majority of the 
cardinals to send a deputation at once into Germany to con- 
sult upon the choice of a fit person to be Head of the Church. 
Henry IV. being still a minor, the empress Agnes designated 
Gerard, Bishop of Florence, a Burgundian by birth, and a 
man enjoying a wide reputation for ability, learning, purity 
of life, and charitableness, and equally acceptable to Germans 
and Italians. His election was secured by Cardinal Hilde- 
brand, in an assembly of the exiled cardinals at Siena. When 
Gerard, accompanied by Duke Godfrey and the better class 
of Italian nobles, had approached within a short distance of 
Rome, Benedict, laying aside the papal insignia, withdrew to 
his church of Velletri. Having ascended the papal throne 
under the name of Nicholas II., he placed. the antipope under 
ban, and deprived him of bis-sacerdotal faculties, but the lat- 
ter soon submitted, and received absolution. 

Recent events had amply demonstrated that a change must 



S26 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

be made in the mode of holding elections, if the baneful in- 
fluence of the Eoman nobles in the appointment of popes 
was to be counteracted. Accordingly, in a synod held at 
Rome, in the Lateran Palace (a. d. 1059), at which one hun- 
dred and thirteen bishops assisted, a decree was passed which 
ran as follows: 

" Upon the death of the Pontiff of the Universal Eoman Church,^ it shall, in 
the first instance (imprimis), he the duty of the Cardinal BisJuyps to come 
together, and take the election (of a successor) seriously in hand; they ?hall 
next take joint action with tlie Cardinal Clercs, and, finally, obtain the consent 
of the other dergy, as well as of the people, to their choice ; guarding in ad- 
vance against whatever may, in any way, he an occasion of bribery. If a fit 
person be found in the Eoman Church, he is to be taken ; if not, one may be 
sought elsewhere ; ' provided, always, thai the honor and reverence due to our 
beloved son Henry, at present reigning, or to any future Emperor who shall 
have personally obtained the privilege from the Holy See,^ shall, in no way, be 
impaired. But if, owing to the perversity of bad and wicked men, an honest, 
fair, and free election can not be had in the city (Eome), the Cardinal Bishops, 
together with such of the clergy and Catholic laity as have a conscientious 



1 Decretum de electione Eomani Pontificis, in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 903 ; in Har- 
duin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 1064 sq.; Muratori, Script., T. II., Pt. II.; revised, in 
Gratian, Pt. I., dist. XXIII., c. 1. The often extravagant variations are not 
material. Cf. Gieseler, Text-book of Ch. H., 4th ed., Vol. II., p. 236, note 10, 
and Cunitz, de Nicolai II. decreto de electione Pontifl. Kom. diss. hist, crit., 
Argentorati, 1837, and Softer, Vol. II., p. 302. The text, contained in the 
Vatican Codex, nro. 1984 (in Pertz, Monum. Leges, T. II., in the Appendix, p. 
176; in Watierich, Vitae Pontif. Eom., T. I., p. 229-232), has passed as correct. 
Conf. Uefele, Hist, of Counc, Vol. IV., p. 757, and Vol. V., p. 4; here the 
author corrects his former exposition in the Freiburg Eccl. Cyclop., Vol. VII., 
pp. 580, 581. Even this text has, most recently, been combated as interpolated 
by the royalist party. This is the opinion of Waitz, Will, Saur, and Oiesebrecht. 
Conf the latter. Hist, of the Period of the Germ. Emp., Vol. III., p. 1053, par- 
ticularly '■■" Will, in the Bonn Journal of Theol. Literat., year 1868, p. 438 sq. 
The attempts made to restore the text of the supposed original form are, as yet, 
too problematical to be able to command our assent. 

^ This restriction is deemed necessary, because the Bishop of Eome, being at 
once Pope and Sovereign of the States of the Church, could not, as experience has 
shown, command the confidence of his temporal subjects, if he were a foreigner. 
Conf. Freiburg Periodical of Theol.. Vol. III., p. 207-212 

^ According to Anselm, Bp. of Lucca (contra Wibert. antipapam II.), the cleri- 
cals understood by this "due respect" a simple notification: Ut obeunte Apos- 
tolico Pontifice successor eligeretur et electio ejus Eegi notifioaretur. Pacta 
vero electione et — regi notificata, ita demum pontifex consecraretur {Canisii 
lect. ant. ed. Basnage, T. III., p. 382) ; while, on the contrary, the imperialists 
interpreted it as implying consent, confirmation. 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Influence of Hildehrand. 327 

regard to duty, though few in number, may assemble where they conveniently 
can, and proceed to elect the Bishop of the Apostolic See. 

" Should, however, any one acting in opposition to this our decree, promul- 
gated with the concurrence of the Synod, secure his election, or his consecra- 
tion, or his coronation, by an uprising of the people, or by anj' unfair mean; 
whatever, he and his aiders and abettors shall be placed under perpetual anath- 
ema, cuj^ off from the Church, and he himself be regarded as an antichrist, an 
invader, and devourer of Christ's flock." 

This synod also renewed all the decrees passed against 
simony and the concubinage of ecclesiastics since the pontificate 
of Leo IX. A decree was even passed forbidding any one to 
assist at the llass of a priest known to keep a concubine or hold 
criminal intercourse with a woman} The same synod obliged 
Berengarius to take an oath, formulated in the most precise 
terms, by Cardinal Humbert, which effectually put an end 
to all further shifts and subterfuges on the part of the 
former. 

The paternal solicitude and indefatigable labors of Nicholas 
II. for the restoration and maintenance of the unity of the 
Church, not in theory onlj'^, but in practice as well, met with 
unlooked-for success even in the distant countries of Den- 
mark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. In Milan, Peter Da- 
mian, who had been sent thither by the Pope as papal legate, 
by the dignity, prudence, and firmness of his conduct, dealt a 
decisive blow against the heresy of simony and of theNicolaitanes 
(the marriage of priests). 

Guido, Archbishop of Milan, repented of his former life, 
cast himself at the feet of Peter Daraian, and humbly be- 
sought the legate to impose a penance upon him. The other 
clergy did the same, and for a time these terrible evils were 
checked and prevented from spreading. 

Nicholas was quite as successful in withstanding the ag- 
gressions of the Normans as Leo had been. By the famous 
treaty of Melfi, Robert Quiscard (wiseacre) became the Pope's 
vassal, under the title of the Duke of Calabria and Apulia. 
These territories were transferred to him, together with the 

1 Concilium Komanum (a. 1059), can. III.: Ut nuUus Missam audiat presby- 
teri, qaem scit, ooncubinam indubitanter habere, aut subintroductam mulierem 
{Mansi, T. XIX., p. 897; Sarduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 1062); in Watterich, T. I., 
p. 233. 



328 Penod 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

island of Sicily, when he should have conquered it from the 
Saracens, on condition of his paying a yearly tribute and 
taking an oath of fealty to the Holy See. He also ■promised 
to protect the Roman Church and secure the freedom of the election 
of popes} And, in matter of fact, Robert sent so large a body 
of troops to protect the Holy See that the power of the Counts 
of Tusculum, those inveterate and dangerous enemies of the 
Popes, was broken, and their fortresses of Palestrina and 
Galora taken and destroyed. 

While these events wei'e taking place in Italy, Henry IV. 
was still a minor, and the aspect of political and ecclesiastical 
affairs in Germany was not encouraging. A general breaking 
up of the old condition of things seemed imminent, and sur- 
face indications began to appear of designs hostile to the 
Holy See. In the absence of bishops distinguished for firm- 
ness of character and holiness of life, princes exercised an 
arbitrary and despotic power in the conduct of ecclesiastical 
affairs, and their interference, instead of being a protection, 
became an oppressive tyranny. The Pope, ajjprehensive that 
his days might be drawing to a close, and fully alive to the 
dangers which threatened the Church, the Holy See, and the 
independence so necessary to the exercise of its rights and 
prerogatives, added, probably at the Synod of Rome, held al 
Eastertide (a. d. 1061), the following to his previous decrees 
concerning the mode of proceeding in the election of popes :^ 

' The two formularies of the oath, in Baronius ad a. 1059, nros. 70 and 71. 
The first is couched in the following terms: Ego Bohertus Dei gratia et St. 
Petri dux Apuliae et Calabriae, et utroque subveniente futurus Siciliae, ad con- 
firmationem traditionis et ad recognitionem fidelitatis de omni terra, quam ego 
proprie sub dominio teneo, et quam adhuc nulli Ultramontanorum unquam con- 
cessi, ut teneat, promitto me annualiter pro unoquoque jugo boum pensionem 
scilicet XII. denarios Papiensis monetae persoluturum beato Petro et tibi Dom- 
ino meo Nicolao Papae et omnibus successoribus tuis, aut tuis, aut tuorum sue- 
cessorum nuntiis. From the second, more ample formula, we quote : Sanctae 
Eomanae ecclesiae ubique adjutor ero ad tenendum et acquirendum regalia St. 
Petri ejusque possessiones pro meo posse contra omnes homines ; et adjuvabo to, 
ut secure et honorifice teneas Papatum Romanum terramque St. Petri et prin- 
cipatum, etc. Conf. Ofrorer, Gregory VII., Vol. I., p. 614 sq. 

2 In Mansl (T. XIX., p. 899) and Harduin, this last ordinance concerning 
papal elections is like the one above, in the Deoretum contra simoniacos, added 
to the Eoman Council of 1059; yet, as already assumed by Hojler, Vol. II, pp 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Injluence of Hildebrand. 329 

" Should any one be placed upon the Holy See by intrigue, bribery, or the 
favor of man, or by an uprising of either the people or the soldiery; or who 
has not been canonically and unanimously elected, and has not received the 
blessing of the Cardinal Bishops and inferior clergy, such- one shall be regarded 
as an apostate, and not as Pope. The Cardinal Bishops, aided by the inferior 
clergy and religiously minded laics, may make use of anathema and of every 
human means to drive the intruder from the Holy See, and put in his place one. 
who, in their judgment, is worthy of the dignity. Should they be unable to 
hold the election within the city, they have our apostolic authority to assemble 
where they list, and proceed to elect the candidate, who, besides being the mi)st 
worthy, will also give promise of being the most useful to the Holy See. The 
Pope-elect shall at once enjoy plenary apostolic authority, in the same sense as 
if he had already come into possession of the throne ; to govern the Church, 
and provide for her interests, as he may deem best, in view of the time and 
circumstances in which he is placed." 

By this decree, all rights of the future Emperor to partici- 
pate in the election of popes was withdrawn. ■ Recent events 
had already proved that any future attempts of the German 
Emperors to interfere in the election of popes would be 
fraught with evil. Moreover, this decree did not deny to the 
German nation any right which might not at any former time 
have been withdrawn from it, for the Emperors who came 
to Eome to aflbrd protection to the Holy See in its seasons 
of distress, and to put an end to the quarrels attending con- 
tested elections, acquired no greater or more inalienable right 
by the performance of these kind offices than did the Popes to 
a permanent voice in the election of emperors, because they 
had, in exceptional circumstances, when there were many 
claimants to the imperial crown, decided to whom it justly 
belonged. Notwithstanding that this was obviously the cor- 
rect view of the matter, " the bare announcement of this modi- 
fied decree on papal election created so great an excitement 
in Germany' that the bishops, acting together under the lead 

305, 356, they probably belong to the Lateran Synod of 1061. Besides intrinsic 
reasons, there is in favor of this assumption the circumstance, that, in this de- 
cree, mention is made of former assemblies, said to have been held by Nicho- 
las II. See Mansi, T. XIX., p. 938 ; see also Watierieh, T. I., p. 238 : " Nihilomiuus 
auctoritate Apostolica deoernimus, quod in aZiis conventibus nosiris decrevimas." 
The fact of an amendment of the decree in the above sense, is furthermore 
established by the commotion which it excited in Germany. 

1 Hefele (Hist, of Counc, Vol. II., p. 787 sq.) puts forward a new view con- 
cerning these two decrees of election, and also assigns a different motive for the 



330 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

of Hanno, Archbishop of Cologne, took the matter in hand 
and sent a threatening letter on the. subject to the Pojie, and 
when the latter- rebuked them for their pains, they declared 
" he had forfeited the papacy." 

Things were bad enough now, but they grew immeasurably 
worse when, after the death of Nicholas II. (July 22, a. d. 
1061), the cardinals, uflder the direction of Cardinal Hilde- 
brand, came together and elected Anselm, Bishop of Lucca, 
under the name of Alexander II. (a. d. 1061-1073), with an 
utter disregard of what the Germans might think of it.' 

Cardinal Stephen, who had been dispatched to the court of 
the young Henry with an account of the election, was denied 
an audience, and obliged to return without having had the 
seal on his official documents broken. A party of discon- 
tented nobles, headed by the count of Tusculum, together 
with such of the clergy as were hostile to a reformation of 
morals and disciplinary abuses, prevailed upon the empress 
to order a new election, under pretext that the former had 
been invalid, because the consent of the imperial court had 
not been asked. The empress, who was displeased that the 
Holy See had entered into an alliance with the ISTormans, and 
was glad of an opportunity to revenge herself, yielded to 
their request, and called an assembly of the German and Ital- 
ian nobles at Basle. Thither, too, under the lead of the 
chancellor "Wibert, came the bishops of Normandy, a country 
then distinguished above all others for the prevalence of the 
vices of simony and clerical incontinence. The assembly of 
Basle presented to Henry the insignia of Patrician ; revoked 

excitement which they caused in Germany. The latter, however, is not fully 
nor even clearly stated. He simply aays : " It is impossible to fix on what was 
the fault of Archbishop Hanno which called for papal interference." We have 
been at some pains to look into this view, but, after a close examination, we can 
not say it is entirely satisfactory. For our own part, we prefer the theory based 
upon the meager hints contained in the works of Anselm the Younger of Lucca 
and of Bonizo, which is also adopted by Eofler (Vol. II., p. 357 sq.) and Gfrorer 
(Grog. VII., Vol. I., p. 633 sq.), and defended against Hefele by Will',\n his 
work entitled " The Commencement of the Restoration of the Church in the 
Eleventh Century," Pt. II., Marburg, 1864, p. 172. 

1 Alexander 11. vita et epist., Mansi, T. XIX., p. 639. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. 
I., p. 1077 sq. Watterich, T. I., p. 235-290. 



I 190. Popes Elected through Influence of Hildebrand. 33] 

the decree of Pope JSTicliolas II. concerning the freedom of 
papal elections ; annulled the election of Alexander, and ele- 
vated to the papal chair Cadaloiis, Bishop of Parma, formerly 
chancellor of Henry III., a wealthy and vicious man, whose 
licentious life was a sufficient guaranty to his party that no 
reformation would be undertaken or pushed by him. He 
took the title of Honorius 11. (October 28, a. d. 1061.) After 
having obtained the approval of the empress, he assembled 
an army about him, marched toward Rome, encountered and 
overcame the army of Alexander, and entered the city, where 
he made a prodigal use of the great quantity of money he 
had brought with him. His stay was but short. Godfrey, 
Duke of Tuscany, and the N^ormans had taken up arms to 
defend the rights of Alexander, and Honorius, fearing their 
vengeance, took alarm and fled, at their appi'oach, to his see 
of Parma (A. D. 1062). In Germany, during the minority of 
Henry, either Pope was recognized, according to the princi- 
ples and policy of the party which for the moment was in the 
ascendant and held the reigns of government. 

This condition of aft'airs continued until Hanno, Arch- 
bishop of Cologne, secured for himself the tutorship of the 
young prince and took the administration of the government 
into his own hands. He then called a synod at Wiirzburg, 
at which the election of Cadaloiis was declared null; the 
chancellor Wibert, who was the soul of his party, condemned, 
and Alexander II. proclaimed the lawful Pope. 

Alexander, not content with what had already been done 
for the reformation of morals and discipline, sent Peter Da- 
mian into France with plenary authority to correct the abuses 
existing there. In England, also. Archbishop Lanfranc of 
Canterbury, ably seconded the exertions of the Pope, and set 
himself firmly against the sale of ecclesiastical benefices and 
the unchastity of the clergy. 

At the Council of Mantua (a. d. 1064), Alexander repelled 
the charges that had been brought against him, and declared 
them to be slander.^ In answer to those who asserted that 



1 On the Council, compare Gfrorer, Gregory VII., Vol. II., p. 44-86, and Will, 
Benzo's Panegyric of Henry IV., with special reference . . . totheCounci) 
of Mantua, Marhurg, 1856. Hefele, Hist, of Counc, Vol. IV., p. 793 sq. 



332 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

he had violated the rights and prerogatives of the German 
king, he said that the privilege of contirming papal elections, 
which the Emperors had enjoyed, was not of such a character 
that, if it Avere withheld, the election would be invalid; 
that it had been granted, in the first instance, for no other 
reason than to prevent disorders ; and that, moreover, -^what 
was now claimed was not such a privilege, but a license to 
oppress the CMirch." The relations of Church and State 
had already been clearly and accurately mapped out in a 
paper which Peter Damian sent to the Council of Osbor 
(Augsburg, A. D. 1062). He stated there that the two organ 
izations, though both of Divine institution, were entirelj 
different and distinct from each other, and hence each should 
be left perfectly free to work out its own development, and 
in this way the two would go on in peace and harmony, mu- 
tually aiding and supporting each other.^ 

The energy, firmness, and resolution displayed by Alexan- 
der II. made his authority so respected that he was now in a 
position to indignantly reject the demands of the young 
Henry IV., who, tiring of his good and amiable wife, Bertha, 
and yielding to the solicitations of sensual desire, petitioned 
the Pope for a separation. 

The King had already induced Siegfried, Archbishop of 
Mentz, to espouse his cause, by a promise to send a body of 
troops to assist him to- collect the tithes which the Thurin- 
gians had refused to pay. As soon as the Archbishop had 
reported the matter to the Pope, the latter sent Peter Damian 
into Germany, who, at the Synod of Mentz, threatened the 
servile bishops with the censures of the Church, and declared 
to them that the Pope would never consent to the separation. 
Again, at the Diet of Princes, held at Frankfort (a. d. 1069), 
he made a bold and fearless speech in presence of the King, 
in which he laid open to him the turpitude of his demand, 
and warned him that if he should persist in his purpose and 
liave a sentence of separation pronounced in defiance of papal 

1 Petri Damiani disoeptatio synodalis inter regis advooatum et Eomanae eocle- 
siae defensorem, in Baron, ann. ad a. 1062, nr. 68, in 3Ians!, T. XIX., p. 1001 sq. 
Eardnln, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 1119 sq. The words quoted here are the clausula die- 
ticnis. 



§ 190. Popes Elected through Ivfluence of liildebrand. 333 

prohibitions, the imperial crown would be withheld from him. 
The princes present also besought him to give over his inten- 
tion; and thus pressed on all sides, Heury replied: "Very 
good, then ; I shall try to govern myself, and bear the burden 
which 1 can not lay aside." 

It was not long before the Saxons made an appeal to the 
Pope, as the recognized head of religious and moral order, 
and the divinely appointed avenger of wrong, in which 
they represented that the conduct of Heniy was so oppressive 
and tyrannous that they could no longer put up with it; and 
that those about him had sold ecclesiastical benefices and 
dignities in order to procure money to pay troops which werfl 
to be sent against his own people. 

The counselors who had advised this policy were excom- 
municated, and Henry himself threatened with sentence of 
anathema by Pope Alexander. He was also required to come 
to Rome and justify his conduct, but in the meantime the 
Pope died (a. d. 1073). 

The Emperor Charlemagne had, upon one occasion, called 
an assembly of the bishops at Pome, to sit in judgment upon 
Pope Leo IH. ; and now, after a little more than two cen- 
turies have gone by, a pope cites an emperor to appear before 
him and give an account of his conduct. The proceeding, 
though a novel one, was not without precedent. Even in the 
ninth century, after the bishops of the empire had set aside 
the claims of Louis the Mild, they became arbitrators in the 
quarrels of his sons, and deposed Lothaire at the Synod of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. That Eildebrand was the soul of this 
movement, which began when the Church was covered with 
shame and sunk in the depths of degradation, and ended only 
when she was again raised to her former high estate and held 
in honor everywhere, there can be no doubt. But bj^ his side, 
sharing his toils and cheering him in his moments of dis 
couragement, was his faithful friend, Peter Damian^ (f \. d. 

'He thus wrote to Hildebrand: Tuis coeptis tuisque conatibus semper obtem- 
perare contendi et in omnibus tuis certaminibus atque viotoriis ego me non 
commilitonem sive pedissequum, sed quasi fulmen injeci. Quod enim certamen 
unquam coepisti, ubi protinus ego non essem litigator et judex? XJbi scilicet 
non aliam auotoritatem canonum, nisi solum tuae voluntatis sequebar arbitrium. 



334 Period 2. 3poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 



1072). This sai'nt used to call Hildebrand his Holy Satan 
(adversary), and declare that he was more a ruler-i,n Rome 
than the Pope himself.' 

§ 191. Retrospect. 

The one great purpose which those had in view who first 
contemplated the establishment of a Christian Empire, and 
advocated its close alliance with the Papacy, Avas to lav, by 
the harmonious action of the temporal and spiritual powers, 
the tempests which the migration of nations had evoked ; to 
subdue the fierce passions of the barbarous German tribes; 
to watch over the peace of Christendom ; and in this way to 
lift the people up to the generous and noble sentiments which 
Christianity and Christian civilization inspire. In pursuing 
this common end, both princes and people readily yielded 
precedence to the Pope. All recognized in the symbolical 
ceremony of the coronation and transfer of the sword, the 
principle that both the imperial dignity and the temporal 
power were but emanations from the fullness of spiritual author- 
ity. Moreover, the Emperor, in regard of his moral conduct 
(ratione peccati), was, in the full and strict sense of the word, 
subject to the Pope, and this because the latter is, by virtue 
of his office, the divinely appointed censor of morals and cus- 
todian of justice. With him, there is, in this regard, no dis- 
tinction of persons. He will be called upon to give an account 
to Grod of the conduct of an Emperor as well as of the most 
obscure in the humblest walks of life. ISTeither did the Emperor 
pay deference to the Pope as man, or from personal considera- 

et mera tua voluntas mihi canonum erat auctoritas. Nee unquam judicavi, 
quod visum est mihi, sed quod plaeuit tibi. Transferred from Kraus' Ch H ' 
Vol. II., p. 265. (Te.) 

' Th:s was the belief of the whole party at Rome in favor of reform. Peter 
uamian, indignant at the excessive influence of Hildebrand, gives expression to 
bis feelings in the following caustic epigrams : 

Vivc-ro Yjs Koniae, clara dopiomito toob: 

Plus domiuo papae, qiiam domuo part'o papae. 

The following refers to the relations of Hildebrand to the Pope: 

Papam rito colo, sed to prostvatus adoro: 
Tu facis hiinc Dominum, to facit isto Beum. 
in Baron, ad an. 1061, nros. 34 and 35. 



191. Betrospect. 335 



tions, but because he recognized in him the representative of 
God. Again, the two powers were believed to be based on 
the same principles, and to flow from the same Source. Pope 
and Emperor held their power of the King of Heaven, and 
exercised it in His name and by His sanction. Working in 
different and distinct spheres, their efforts were directed to 
the same end. Hence the Emperor was frequently called, 
without qualification, the Viear of Christ (Vicarius Christi). 
Henry III., who had been ordained a cleric,' is an example 
of this usage. From these considerations, it will be seen that 
as long as Pope and Emperor were faithful to their respective 
missions, neither trenching upon the domain of the other, no 
dispute could arise between them, and no rupture separate 
them ; and that such an antagonism was possible only when 
one or both acted from selfish and personal, instead of gen- 
erous and politic motives. 

The relations of co-ordination or subordination between 
the Papacy and the Empire had been frequently set forth, 
and the necessity of mutual harmonious action had been 
expressed by the symbol of the Imperial Globe; but perhaps 
no one brought out the idea more beautifully and clearly 
than Peter Damian. " Both Pope and Emperor," says he, 
" should exert themselves to maintain an intimate union be- 
tween the Papacy and the Empire, to the end that the human 
race, exercising its religious and civil faculties (iu utraque 
substantia), under the direction of these two supreme powers 
(per hos duos apices), may in future live in harmony, and 
never be again rent by divisions. These two dignitaries, in- 
asmuch as they are the highest representatives of authority 
on earth, should vie with each other in acts of loving friend- 
ship, that those who are under them may learn from tlieir 
example to cultivate charity. For inasmuch as the Empire 
and the Priesthood have, by Divine dispensation, been united 

^Wippo, in his Life of Conrad the Salic, calls this prince vicarium Del, arul 
the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle, A. D. 862, says to King Lothaire II.: Prineipi 
ad memoriam reduximus, ut non imraemor vocationis suae, quod nomine cense- 
tur opere compleat, ut Eex Kegum Christus, qui sui nominis vicem ilU coniulit ■t?i 
terris, dispensationis sibi creditae dignam remunerationem reddat in coelis. 
{Harzheim, T. II., p. 266.) Cf. HSfier, German Popes, Pt. I., p. 241. 



336 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 2. 

through the one Mediator between God and man, so should 
these two exalted personages be so closely united by the in-., 
dissoluble bond of charity, that the interests of the one would 
be as dear to the other as his own, and that the only distinc- 
tion between them should consist in those prerogatives granted 
to the Pope in person, andwhich none other can take upon himself 
to exercise." 

Owing to the critical circnmstances of this age, when every- 
thing was in a state of disorder, it not unfrequently Lappened 
that one power was permitted to trench upon the domain of 
the other, and was at times invited to do so. For example, 
the deposition of John XII. by Otho I., notwithstanding that 
it was clearly uncanonical, was very generally praised as a 
measure affording a remedy to the evils of the age, and on 
this account deserving the gratitude of mankind. Again, 
the high-handed interference of Otho's son and grandson, 
and, still later on, of Henry III., in papal elections, met with 
an equally grateful recognition ; because their conduct was 
inspired and sustained by Christian sentiments and a feeling 
of loyalty to the Church, and was required by the exceptional 
circumstances of the times. 

But when it had become apparent that the emperors wished 
to claim as rights, for the purpose of enslaving and tyran- 
nizing over the Church, powers which were, of their very 
nature, transitory and abnormal, but which had grown out 
of the special exigencies of the age, and had been granted 
from a feeling of confidence, then the Head of the Church 
conceived it to be his imperative duty to lay down precise 
and comprehensive principles defining the relations between 
Pope and Emperor, Church and State. And to this work, as 
we shall see presently, did the successors of Alexander II. 
apply themselves. 



CHAPTEE m. 

HISTOKT OP THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH. 

§ 192. The Church in Her lielations to the State. 

^Thomassini Vetus and Nova Ecclesiae Disciplina, Pt. III., lib. I., c. 26-30 
(de Temporabilibus Ecclesiae concessis) ; Pt. II., lib. II., c. 48, 49 (de Sacramento 
fidolitatis, quae summis principibus persolvere Episcopi et Abbates, etc.) Phil- 
lips, C. L., Vol. III., Pt. I. 

The relations of the Church to the various Germanic na- 
tions somewhat resembled those which the papacy experienced 
in its intercourse with princes. As has been stated above, 
the bishops were unavoidably drawn into the meshes of feu- 
dalism. The system had come into existence in the course 
of the migration of nations, increased in strength and per- 
fected its organization as years went on, and reached its fullest 
development amid the storms which swept over Europe in the 
ninth and tenth centuries. The German people, whose first 
business was war, now became freeholders of the soil, and 
ended by falling into a system and submitting to restrictions 
entirely at variance with the traditions and habits of life of 
their ancestors. 

In the wars of the Carlovingian princes, the bishops were 
the most trusty allies of the crown, and, on this account, ob- 
tained a large portion of the"crown-lands, which had formerly 
belonged to vassals, on condition that they should maintain a 
contingent of troops. It was especially during these years 
that churchmen acquired an importance in the feudal system. 
Even kings and emperors, particularly Otho I., conferred upon 
them whole dukedoms, in the belief that they were thus rais- 
ing up for themselves faithful allies who would enable them 
to withstand the growing power of the princes of the empire. 
Coming into possession of their fiefs by the law of hereditary 
descent, some of these princes grew so powerful as seriously 
VOL. u— 22 (337) 



338 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

to threaten the authority of the emperor or king himself. 
It was therefore important for them to secure allies on whose 
fidelity they could rely, and of whose ambition they might 
not be suspicious. The bishops, in order to maintain a con- 
siderable body of troops, were under the necessity of again 
granting a large portion of their estates in fief to others. 
But no sooner had they come into the possession of these 
great fiefs and the exercise of secular authority than they 
surrendered their independence as churchmen and grew ar- 
rogant as rulers. IsTotwithstanding that they were dispensed 
from rendering personal service, on the one hand, and, on the 
other, threatened with the censures of the Church against 
those who bear arms in time of war, instead of endeavoring 
to appease the anger of God, they as well as abbots not un- 
frequently took part in the sti'uggles of the Carlovingian 
family, some from a natural taste for war, and others because 
they were obliged by the relations in which they stood to the 
king and the nobility. 

A large portion of episcopal and monastic possessions hav- 
ing in this way become identified with the feudal system, 
gave an opportunity to kings and princes to gradually assume 
an attitude dangerous at once to the liberties and estates of 
the Church. There can be no question that freedom in the 
choice of bishops is among the most essential conditions to 
the prosperity of the Church. This great principle of eccle- 
siastical polity, which had been guaranteed by Charlemagne 
and Louis the Mild, and rigorously enforced by the Council 
of Valence (a. d. 855), was now beginning to be either silently 
ignored or openly violated. 

The grantors of fiefs, fancying that they and their heirs had 
also the disposal of the ecclesiastical dignities attached to them, 
generally conferred them., without regard to other qualifications, 
upon persons of whose personal fidelity they were assured, or 
loho were nearly allied to them by ties of blood. And yet, by 
the principles of the feudal system, the election of bishops 
and the conferring of ecclesiastical benefices should have 
been left entirely to the Church. This was her protection, 
as the right of inheritance was the protection of those fami- 
lies which held their lands by feudal tenure. Notwith- 



§ 192. The Church in Her Relations to the State. 339 

standing this obvious right, Charles the Bald and other 
princes did not hesitate to appoint court-chaplains to bish- 
oprics, and to send them to metropolitans to receive con- 
secration. Hence, during the tenth century, many of the 
creatures of the crown and striplings of vicious habits were 
set over important sees, and even placed upon the pontifical 
throne. 

But apart from these abuses, and in spite of them, many 
of the appointments made in Germany and Italy by the best 
kings and emperors of this epoch were beneficial to the 
Church; and this notwithstanding that their primary and 
chief qualifications consisted in being related to the royal 
family to which they owed their elevation. Thus, for ex- 
ample, in the reign of Otho I., the three Rhenish archbish- 
oprics were in the hands of his son, his brother, and his 
cousin. 

There was still another consequence of the feudal system, 
no less dangerous in its results than the former. The newly 
elected bishops were obliged to take, besides the oath of per- 
sonal fidelity, another of feudal fealty or homage (homagium), 
by which they bound themselves to serve the king in war, to 
appear at his court when required, to assist at his tribunals, 
and to be subject to his jurisdiction. After the oath, which 
was taken while the vassal held bis hands within those of his 
liege lord, the bishops-elect received their investiture of the 
temporalities of the Church.^ The transfer of the ring and 

' It is not certain when bishops were first required to take the feudal oath. 
The bishops, assembled in the Synod of Quiercy (Crecy), in 858, protested against 
taking the oath to the German king, Louis, declaring that they could not, like 
laics, become the vassals of any man, and that it was not lawful for them, after 
their ordination, to place their consecrated hands upon a secular oath. Et nos 
episcopi, Domino consecrati, non sumus hujusmodi homines, ut sicut homines 
saeculares in Vassallatico debeamus nos cuilibet commendare, sen ad defensio- 
nem et adjutorium gubernationis in ecclesiastico regimine nos ecclesiasque nos- 
tras committere; aut jurationis sacramentum, quod nos evangelica et apostolica 
ittque canonica auctoritas vetat, debeamus quoquo modo facere. Manus enim 
charismate sacro peruncta, quae de pane et vino aqua mixto per orationem et 
erucis signum conficit corpus Christi et sanguinis sacramentum, abominabile 
est, quidquid ante ordinationem fecerit, ut post ordinationem episcopatus saecu- 
lare tangat ullo modo sacramentum (Sarduin, T. V., p. 475). Though not cer- 
tain, it is very probable, that Bishop Hincmar of Laon took such an oath, or 



340 Period 2. E:poch 1. Fart 2. Cha'pter 3. 

crosier, the symbols of episcopal power and dignity, was a 
circamstance which rendered this ceremony of investiture 
still more significant and perilous.^ 

It was absolutely necessary for the Church to liberate her- 
self from this degrading servitude, and no sooner was she in 
a position to make the attempt than all her efforts were di- 
rected to this end. In the first year of the pontificate of Leo 
IX., there was a decree passed in the Synod of Tiheims (a. d. 
1049), enacting that, for the future, no one should be permit- 
ted to receive episcopal consecration who had not first been 
elected by the clergy and the peoj>le? 

It is a consolation to know that, even in these evil days, 
when the Church was oppressed and in a state of dependence, 
there were still those who were courageous and bold enougli 
to utter a protest against the encroachments of the civil 
power, and to remind princes of the words of Charlemagne. 
"/ am." said he, "6«i the defender and dutiful servant of the 
Church." " There is," says the Council of St. Macra (a. d. 
881), "a wide distinction between the sacerdotal and the 



homaffium, to King Charles tlie Bald, to whom he promised fidelity, "sicut homo 
sua seniori." 

' Even Clevis had said (Diplom. an. 508j : " Quidquid est fisoi nostri per 
annulum tradimus." (In Bouquet, T. IV., p. 616.) 

Of Olovis II. (a. d. 623), it is said in Vita S. Eomani Eppi. Bothomag.: 
"Baculum illi contulit pastoralem." 

In Germany, kings claimed the right of nominating to bishoprics in virtue 
of foundations, eyidowments, extensive granU, ixnd privileffes, for which the episco- 
pal sees were wholly indebted to the munificence and liberality of either them 
or thetr predecessors. Eor this reason, even when it happened that the king 
did not appoint, the representatives of the clergy and of the lay vassals brought 
the ri?ir/ and crosier of the deceased bishop to him, and requested him to confirm 
the election. Not unfrequently the king was directly asked to nominate a 
bishop. The ring and crosier were first employed in the tenth century as the 
distinctive symbols of episcopal investiture, their use being analogous to that 
of the sword and lance in the creation of civil or military functionaries. (Nat. 
Alex. Hist. Eccl. saec, XI. et XII., diss. IV.) 

' Cone. Remense., can. I.-III. : Ne quis sine electione cleri et populi ad regime i 
ecclesiastioum proveheretur. — Ne quis sacros ordines, aut ministeria ecclesias- 
tioa vel altaria emeret aut venderet. — Et si quis Clericorum emisset, id cum 
digna satisfaotione suo Episcopo reddoret. — Ne quis laicorum eoclesiasticum 
ministerium vel altaria teneret, nee episcoporum quibus consentirent. {Manss\ 
T. XIX., p. 741. Ilarduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 1006.) 



§ 192. The Church in Her Relations to the State. 341 

royal power.' The dignity of bishops is superior to that of 
kings, inasmuch as bishops anoint kings and answer for their 
conduct before God." Of course, a complete separation of 
Church and State, under the then existing constitution of the 
of the Christian States of Germany, would have been impos- 
sible ; nor was anything of this character contemplated by 
the council. And, in matter of fact, the bishops exercised a 
very great, and, at times, decisive and sovereign, influence in 
the most important secular affairs; as, for example, when 
there was question of the right of succession. 

Again, the coronation of kings'^ deeply impressed the minds 
of the people with the importance of those to whom it be- 
longed to perform the ceremony. Theodosius the Younger 
was the first instance, in the East Roman Empire, of royal 

iCap. I., in MaTisi, T. XVII., p. 538. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 350 sq.; 
likewise, Cone, Troslejan., a. 909, cap. II., in Manst, T. XVIII., p. 267. Har- 
duin, 1. c., p. 507. Constant reference was made to the words of Pope Gelasius, 
Vol. I., p. 650, note 1. It is a very significant fact, that Archbishop Hinc- 
mar of Eheims, who, while acknowledging and defending the relative indepe-nd- 
ence of Church and State within their reso^^B^pheres of action, maintained 
the spiritual superiority of the ecelesiasticalKKKe civil power. 

"The sixth Council of Paris, addressing^Higs, uses the following forcible 
language : " Eex a recte agendo vocatur. Si enim pie et juste et misericorditer 
regit, merito rex appellatur : si his caruerit, non rex, sed tyrannus est. Antiqui 
autem omnes reges tyrannos vocabant: sed postea pie et juste et misericorditer 
regentes regis nomen sunt adepti : impie vero, injuste crudeliterque principanti- 
bus non regis, sed tyrannicum aptatum est nomen. — Eegale ministerium spe- 
cialiter est populum Dei gubernare, et regere cum aequitate et justitia, et ut 
pacem et concordiam habeant studere. Ipse enim debet primo defensor esse 
ecclesiarum et servorum Dei, viduarum, orphanorum caeterorumque pauperum, 
neo non et omnium indigentium.' (^ansi, T. XIV., pp. 574, 577. Harduin, 
T. IV., pp. 1332, 1334.) 

After Lothaire had been deposed by the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (a. d. 
842), the bishops refused to give his brothers possession of his realm until they 
had promised to rule according to the will of God, and not arbitrarily, as their 
brother had done. "Verumtamen," says Nithard, "haudquaquam illis banc 
licentiam dedere (regendi regni), donee palam illos percontati sunt, utrum illud 
pe'r vestigia frairis ejecti, an secundum Dei voluntatem regere voluissent. Eespon- 
dentibus autem, in quantum nosse ac posse Deus illis concederet, secundum 
suarc voluntatem, se et suos gubernare et regere velle, ajunt : Et aiictoriiate 
divina, et illud suscijnatis, et secundum Dei voluntatem illud regatis, monemus, 
hortamur atque praecipimus." Cf. also Hb'fler, The German Popes, Pt. II., p. 
327. A later formulary of coronation contains the following words: "Bene 
eat ut te prius de onere, ad quod destinaris, moneamus. Eegiam hodie suscipis 



342 Period 2. Ej)Och 1. Part 2. Chapter -S. 

coronation by a bishop, and in the Germano-Christian States, 
the Visigoth kings of Spain, "Wamba and Ervig.^ Before 
receiving the crown, the king made a profession of Catholic 
faith, and promised to defend the rights of the Church and 
maintain her liberties, after which the bishop transferred to 
him the sword, the crown, and the scepter, the symbols of royal 
authority, explaining the symbolical meaning of each in turn, 
and exhorting the recipient to faithfully perform the duties 
which they implied. Thus, for example, Eugene II., in speak- 
ing of this matter, warns Christian princes not to draw the 
sword against each other, but to use it only against barbarous 
nations, and against the Saracens and Normans. In France, 
the right of anointing kings was confined to the Archbishop 
of Kheims, and in Germany to one of the Rhenish archbishops. 
It was not long before the custom of anointing queens was 
introduced. The first to receive this distinction were Irmen- 
trude, the queen of Charles the Bald (a. d. 866), and Judith, 
his daughter, who had married the Anglo-Saxon king Eth- 
elwolf (a. d. 856). 






§ 193. Ecdeswt^^^upremacy of the Fopes. 

At no time in the previous history of the Church was more 
ecclesiastical authority conqentrated in the Supreme Head at 
Rome, and at no time were 'the bishops more free in the exer- 
cise of theirs. The latter was a consequence of the former, 
for the greater the authority of the Pope, the more ready and 
able he is to protect the rights of bishops. Thus, for exam- 
ple, Ariald and Landulf woul difea .ve had no chance of achiev- 
ing a victory in their conflict against the immoral priests of 
Milan, had they not maintained intimate relations with the 
Holy See. Wherever the authority of the Holy See did not 

dignitatam, praeclarum sane inter mortales locum, sed discriminis, laboris et 
anxietatis plenum. Verum si consideraveris, quod omnis potestas e domino 
Deo est, per quem reges regnant, tu quoque de grege tibi commisso ipsi Deo 
rationem es redditurus." See Philiips, C. L., Vol. III., Pt. I., p. 68. 

' Conf. Cquc Toletan. XII., a. 681, cap. I.: Etenim sub qua pace vel ordine 
serenissimus Ervigius prinoeps regni conscenderit culmen, regnandique per 
sacrosanotam unctionem susceperit potestatem, etc. Harduin, T. III., p. 1718, 



§ 193. Ecclesiastical Supremacy of the Popes. 343 

reach, and its influence was not felt, morals decayed and dis- 
cipline relaxed. 

That the authority of the Popes, in itself intrinsically 
necessary and required to meet the wants of the people, 
and which increased and became more and more a blessing 
to the Church as time went on, was in truth supreme, is 
established by the following facts: 1. The Popes promulgated 
general laws in ecclesiastical government and -discipliue, and 
made them binding upon the universal Church.^ Further- 
more, it was conceded that these possessed this universal 
binding force by the fact that they were accepted as au- 
thoritative before they had been admitted into any of the 
more ancient and recognized collections of canon law, or 
into that of the pseudo-Isidore, or the Deacon of Mentz, or Ben- 
edict the Levite, or Abbot Regino of Priim, or Burkhard, Bishop 
of "Worms,^ all of which were then in general use. 2. They 
exercised judiciary powers over bishops, notably when appeals 
were made to Rome. 3. They called bishops, particularly 
those of the Prankish Empire, to attend councils held in 
Rome — a usage derived from the patriarchs of an earlier age. 
4. They established new dioceses and introduced changes into 
old ones. 5. They conferred the pallium and permitted the 
exercise of the metropolitan rights of which it was symbol- 
ical. 6. They frequently gave their definite approval to the 
resignations of bishops, although these might have been pre- 
viously accepted in provincial councils. 7. They granted 
exceptional -privileges to churches and monasteries.' 8. They 
sent Vicars Apostolic, clothed with extensive powers, on em- 



' Cone. Poniigonense, a. 876. Ut quoties utilitas ecclesiastica dictaverit, sive in 
evooanda synodo, sive in aliis negotiis exeroendis, per Gallias et Germaniaa 
Apostolica vice fruatnr, et decreta sedis Apostolioae per ipsum episcopia mani- 
festa efficiantur: et rursus qua gesta fuerint ejus relatione, si necesse fuerit 
Apostolioae sedi pandantur, et majora negotia ao difficiliora quaeque sugges- 
tions ipsius a sede Apostolica disponenda et enucleanda quaerantur. Mansi, T. 
XVII., p. 308. Harduin, T. VI., Ft. I., p. 167. Of. also StepJiani V. decretum, 
in GraUan., Pt. I., dist. XIX., o. 4. 

^Cf. Wassersch^sbe^i, Hist, of the Sources of Law before Gratianus, Berlin, 
1839. 

' See a summary of such privileges granted by Pope Leo IX.', in Hofler, Ger- 
man Popes, Pt. II., p. 866. 



S44 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

bassies to the bishops of various countries. A bishop of the 
country was frequently appointed to this dignity ; but, later 
on, it was more common to send legates extraordinary. Dur- 
ing and after the pontificate of Mcholas I., papal legates con- 
voked and presided over national councils. 

This fullness of ecclesiastical authority was, if possible, 
still further increased by the respect which the people con- 
ceived for the Popes when they heard of them crowning empe- 
rors, and receiving, yearly, thousands oi pilgrims at the Tomb 
of the Apostles. Every one regarded Rome as the capital of 
Christendom, whither princes and people flocked, and where 
devotion was kindled and crimes expiated. 

The coronation of the Popes was the completion and seal 
of this external consideration, in which they were everywhere 
held. 

§ 194. The College of Cardinals. 

Thomasslni Vetus et Nova Ecclcsiae Disciplina, Pt. I., lib. II., c. 113 sq. 
Muratori, de Oardin. Institutione (Antiq. Italiae medii aevi, T. IV., p. 152). 
Onuphrii Panvini, Liber de Cardin. Origine. (Ang. Mai, Spicileg. Eom., T. IX.) 
Binierim, Memorabilia, Vol. II., Pt. II. Hist. Folit. Papers, Vol. IV., p. 193- 
204, especially full details and conscientious research, in Phillips, Canon Law, 
Vol. VI., p. 65-296. Added bt thb Te.: Tamagna, Origine, e prerogative de' 
Cardinal!, Pt. I., c. 3 ; /. Devoti, Instit. Canon., Eomae, 1818, Vol. I., p. 186-199; 
Ferranie, Elem. J. C, Eomae, 1854,, p. 55-58. 

The title of Cardinal (cardinales, xapSvjvdXoc or xapdrjvdpcoc) 
was first applied in the eleventh s.entury to the bishops imme- 
diately around Rome (episcopi collaterales Papae), who were 
in a sense of the Pope's diocese, and to the clergy of the 
Roman Church proper.^ In early times, the title was applied 

1 Pope Leo IX. says, concerning the designation of cardo totius ecclesiae, 
transferred to the clergy of Eome, epist. ad Michaelem Cerularium, nro. 32: 
"Sicut oardine totum regitur ostium, ita Petro, et successoribus ejus totiua eccle- 
siae disponitur emolumentum. . . . Unde clerici ejus cardinales dicuntur, 
cardini utique illi, quo oaetera moventur, vicinius adhaerentes." (Mansi^ T. 
XIX., p. 653. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 944.) Yet, as Ferrante, the Koman 
canonist, says in his Institutes, p. 55, they used to be called, from most ancient 
times, to assist with the Koman clergy at all deliberations of moment, and to 
form with the Koman priests the Pope's senate, yet their formal and definitive 
incorporation of the seven suburbicarian bishops with the S. College dates from 
the eighth century. (Tk.) 



§ 194. The College of Cardinals. 346 



to such of the clergy as had received permanent appointments 
to certain churches; but it was pre-eminently the designation 
of the ecclesiastics attached to cathedrals, because the bish- 
op's church was regarded as the pivot on which all the others 
hinged (cardo). Hence, by the fact of belonging to the epis- 
copal church or hinge (cardo) of the diocese, they were des- 
ignated cardinals. 

The history of this title is analogous to that of Pope. For, 
as in the early days of the Church, all bishops were called 
Pajpae^ an appellation which, later on, was restricted to the 
Bishop of Home, so also did the title of cardinal, originally 
applied to the canons of all cathedral chapters, become, little 
by little (and in proportion as their in^uence and authority 
increased), the special and distinctive designation of the car- 
dinals at Rome. 

It would, however, be a mistake to infer that the ofSce of 
Roman cardinals underwent any change in the lapse of cen- 
turies. Although great and numerous changes may have 
been introduced as to the number, distinctions, prerogatives, 
privileges, and mode of creating them, their office has under- 
gone no such modification, and is to-day precisely what it was 
in early times. 

It is an undeniable fact, that their two most important pre- 
rogatives — viz., to elect Popes, and assist them by their coun- 
sel in the government of the Church — wei'e exercised by them 
in the early ages, as well as at present. Even Pope Siricius, 
speaking in his seventh epistle of the condemnation of Jovin- 
ian and his associates, says that he gave the judgment by the 
advice of the Eomau clergy (facto presbyterio). Hence, St. 
Bernard calls cardinals the counselors and coadjutors of the 
Roman Pontiff"; and the Council of Trent prescribes that the 
Sacred College shall be composed of representatives from all 



' ITaTraf, or Trcnnrag^ a o papa = ttcttip, father. /Inscr. 2664. Eusi. 565, 14, 15. 
Secondly. Papa, father, a title given to bishops in general, and to those of Alex- 
andria and Eome in particular. Oriff. I. 85 D. ; II. 995 C. Greg. Th. 1020 A . 
Dion. Alex, apud Euseb. II. 648 C. Arius apud Epiph. II. 213 A. Aihanas. 
I. 355 B., 869 A.; II. 708 D. Basil. IV., 540 B., 541 A., 952 A. Hieron. I,, 
754 (535). Garth. 1255 A. Ephes. 872 C. Chron. 516. Nia. C. P., Histor 7 
14 = TTflTraf, priest. (Tk.1 



346 Period 2. E-poch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

Christian nations, thus constituting a kind of Western Synod, 
and that their qualifications shall be the same as those required 
by canons in bishops. 

In the eai'ly days of the Church, the mode of electing Popes 
was similar to that followed in the case of bishops. The can- 
didate was first settled upon by the concurrent voice of the 
general body of the Eoman clergy, by the laity, and the 
neighboring bishops, after which the clergy and the bishops 
assembled alone, and either approved or rejected the choice 
made. 

It is true that the cardinals did not exercise the exclusive 
right of electing Popes until the eleventh century, when Pope 
Mcholas II. (a. d. 1059) published a bull confining this duty 
to them, and allowing to the general body of the clergy only 
the privilege of approving their choice. But it is equally 
true that they then obtained by that bull only the formal con- 
firmation of a right which they had always virtually exer- 
cised. Hence, from being invested with so high a prerogative, 
they were at all times much esteemed, and commanded the 
greatest consideration. 

Although possessing no local jurisdiction, they gradually 
came to be considered as persons of more importance than 
even bishops and patriarchs. Nor need this excite surprise. 
The same principle runs through political society also; for 
those who have the choosing of a supreme ruler, and are min- 
isters of State, are persons of greater consideration than the 
governors of cities and provinces situate within the same 
realm. ^ 

The cardinals being princes of the Church, and next in. 
dignity to the Pope himself, wore a dress and bore insignia' 
corresponding to the character of their ofB.ce. The red hat 
was given to them by Innocent IV., and was intended to 
remind them that they should at all times be ready to shed 
their blood, if necessary, in defense of the Church and her 
rights, and the scarlet cape, or "la sacra porpora," was added 
by Pope Paul IL, in 1460. 

In 1567, Pius V. forbade all clergymen who had not been 

1 Vide Ferrante, 1. c. (Te.) 



§ 194. The College of Cardinals. Ml 

created cardinals by the Pope to assume the title. Their 
official appellation of Eminence was conferred upon them by 
Urban VIII., A. r.. 1630. 

Cardinals are frequently sent on embassies by the Holy See, 
and, while engaged on such missions, are called Legates a 
Latere. 

When the cardinals assemble to take counsel with the Pope 
on any matter of importance relating to either Church or 
State, such assembly is called a Consistory (consistorium). 

The College of Cardinals consisted, in the twelfth century, 
of seven cardinal bishops, whose sees lay, and still lie, in tho 
immediate neighborhood of Eome, and who were called on 
this account episcopi suburbicarii, and took their titles from 
the names of their episcopal sees — namely, Ostia, Porto, Santa 
Rufina (Silva Candida), Albano, Sabina, Tusculum (Frascati), 
Praeneste (Palestrina) — but Santa Bufina was afterward added 
to the bishopric of Porto ; of twenty-eight (originally twelve) 
cardinal-pnesfe, who held titular churches within the city of 
Rome; and of eighteen cskrdinal-deacons. The number of 
these last, at first only seven, was afterward raised to eigh- 
teen, fourteen of whom were called Deacons of the City, and 
four Deacons of the Palace — one of the duties of the latter 
being to assist the Pope when he officiates at the Church of 
St. John Lateran. 

In the year 1586, Sixtus V. fixed the number of the College 
of Cardinals at seventy, of whom six were cardinal-bishops 
(suburbicarii), fifty cardinal- priests, and fourteen cardinal- 
deacons. This arrangement has remained unchanged in any 
particular down to our own day, althoagh the college has 
rarely, if ever, its full complement of members, as the Pope 
always leaves some vacancies, which may be filled under ex- 
traordinary circumstances, and it has not unfrequently hap- 
pened that the number has been very much below seventy. 

As the cardinal-bishops were obliged, besides taking part 
in all important deliberations, to officiate, each in his turn, 
for a week together (hebdomadarii), at the Lateran Church, 
they became gradually identified with the Eoman clergy. 

The Cardinal- bishop of Ostia, whose see has been united to 
that of Velletri, has always retained the privilege of conse- 



348 Period 2. Bfoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

crating the Pope-elect, having as his assistants the bishops 
of Porto and Albano. 

§ 195. Metropolitans, Bishops, and Their Dioceses. 

Thomassini Vetus et Nova Ecclesiae Diaciplina, Pt. I., lib. I., c. 43, 56 (de 
Metropolit. et Episc.) ; Pt. I., lib. II., c. 5 sq. (de Archipresbyteris.) 

Through the efforts of St. Boniface' and Pepin, the ■power 
of metropolitans had long since been considerably increased. 
This may also be shown from the work of Hincmar, Arch- 
bishop of Eheims, entitled "De Jure Metropolitanorum," and 
from a letter addressed to his cousin, Hincmar, Bishop of 
Laon, in which their prerogatives are enumerated.^ As there 
was danger of powers so extensive becoming detrimental to 
the true interests of the Church, when placed in the hand? 
of ambitious prelates, the Pope interposed, either directly or 
through his legates, to check this exercise of them. He at 
first limited their extension by his own direct legislation as 
Head of the Church, but, later on, obliged the metropolitans 
to conform to the requirements of ecclesiastical law, as set 
forth in the pseudo-Isidorian decretals. Owing to their ex- 
alted rank, the metropolitans still retained many of their 
political rights, while they lost, in a great measure, the ex- 
cessive ecclesiastical jurisdiction which they had been in the 
habit of exercising over their .suffragan bishops. Instead of 
holding provincial synods at stated times, and establishing 
their authority on the basis of law, they attempted, during 

iViae§163. 

''Dr. Dollinger, in referring to this same letter, thus summarizes its contents:! 
" The metropolitan examined, confirmed, and consecrated the bishops of hia j 
province ; he summoned them to synods, at which each one was bound to ap- 
pear; to him were to be referred all complaints against a bishop, and all dis- 
putes of the bishops among themselves; ho appointed administrators of churches 
that had lost their bishops; no bishop could appeal to Eome against the will of 
the metropolitan, nor, without his permission, travel beyond the province, send 
messengers, or alienate the goods of his church. Upon the archbishops devolved 
the care of the entire province ; in all ecclesiastical affairs he could be consulted; 
to him appeals might be made from the judgment of the bishop, and he was 
empowered, even without convening a synod, of his own authority, to correct 
the errors or the crimes of a bishop." Ch. Hist., Cox's Eng. trans., Vol. III. 
pp. 180, 181. (Tk.) 



§ 195. Metropolitans, Bishops, and Thei?' Deacons. 349 

the course of the tenth century, to govern the dioceses of 
their provinces directly and by a sort of personal jurisdiction, 
and thus excited the enmity and opposition of bishops and 
provoked the interference of popes. 

By entering into close relations with the Head of the 
Church and submitting fully to his authority, the bishops 
acquired at once a greater influence among the bulk of the 
people, and greater freedom from the restraints of princes. 
Their relations to the clergy of their several dioceses re- 
mained unchanged. If a priest chanced to be removed with- 
out sufficient cause, he might appeal from the action of the 
bishop to the judgment of either a provincial synod, the 
metropolitan, or the Pope. 

The right of the bishop to appoint to all ecclesiastical posi- 
tions in his diocese was limited by the privileges of patron- 
age^ legally acquired by laymen who had founded churches or 
benefices.^ But, still worse, many of the patrons, who had 
succeeded in getting possession, either by force or royal grant, 
of nearly all the churches of some districts, so far transgressed 
their rights as to arbitrarily depose ecclesiastics and appro- 
priate to their own use the tithes and the offerings of the 
faithful. Again, the great increase in the number of private 
chapels and oratories gave rise to a class of priests, who, liv- 
ing constantly either at the courts of princes or in the palaces 
of the uobles, were withdrawn from the watchful care of the 
bishop, to the great detriment of episcopal authority and 
ecclesiastical discipline. The great lords claimed, strangely 
enough, that these ecclesiastics formed part of their house- 
hold (de familia domini), and accordingly had them engaged 
in worldly pursuits, and sometimes employed in the most 
menial services, such as waiting at table, grooming horses, 
and caring hounds. On the other hand, these ecclesiastics, 
feeling that their position gave them a certain security from 
punishment, ceased to trouble themselves about episcopal au- 
thority, and led most disgraceful lives. 

' Kight of presentation to a churcli or ecclesiastical benefice. (Tk.) The syn- 
ods of Orleans, 541 (Harduin, T. II., p. 1437) ; Toledo, 655 (Harduin, T. III., p 
973 sq.); then, a capitulary of 816, already grant privileges of this kind. 

'See Yol. I., p. 663. 



350 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

But the Church would not consent to quietly submit to the 
assumption of the seigneurs, or to relinquish her authority 
over ecclesiastics. She pertinaciously insisted that these lat- 
ter were of her own household (de familia ecclesiae), and 
should order their lives according to her laws. 

Still another great evil of these times was what were called 
ordinationes absolutae, or the ordaining of ecclesiastics without 
previously appointing them to serve at any particular church — 
an exceptional practice first introduced in favor of such priests 
as were going into missionary countries. It was not long be- 
fore complaints were brought forward, in several councils, of 
the great number of such priests, who were going about, ex- 
empt, apparently, from all ecclesiastical jurisdiction (acephali, 
cleriei vagantes). 

In spite of all former' and present^ efforts to suppress the 
class of ecclesiastics known as chorepiscopi, or rural bishops, 
there still existed quite a number of them, who were gen- 
erally employed by bishops as vicars or auxiliaries, were 
sometimes independent in the exercise of their functions, and 
were not unfrequently set over vacant sees by kings who were 
desirous of retaining the revenues. They disappeared almost 
entirely, during the course of the tenth century, and were 
replaced by bishops-vicar, or, as they are now called, coad- 
jutor bishops (vicarii in pontificalibus). According to Bin- 
terim, the first instance of this class is one Leo, who is men- 
tioned in a letter of Pope John XV. as " vice-episcopus St.. 
Treverensis ecclesiae."^ They were subsequently consecrated 
under the title of a diocese, which, although actually iii the 
hands of infidels, was still cherished in the memory of the 
Church, and on this account they were called episcopi in 
partibus (sc. infidelium), or episcopi titulares. The cathedral 



iSeep. 138. 

^ Weizsacker, The Struggle against the Chorepiscopacy of the Frankish Em- 
pire, in the Ninth Century, Tubg. 1859. Cf. IValter's C. L., 13th ed., p. 336, 
note 8. 

' Blnterim, Memorab., Vol. I., Pt. II., p. 384. On the other hand, the ecclesi- 
astic sent, in 1036, by Pope Benedict IX. to Archbishop Poppo, was, properly 
speaking, a coadjutor. Conf. Hoher, de Proepiscopis Trevirensibus, who demon- 
strates that the existence in tlie diocese of Treves of ihe institution of vice- 
bishops, before the twelfth century, can not be proved. 



§ 195. Metropolitans, Bishops, and Their Deacons. 351 

canons, who, up to the present time, had led a community 
life,^ formed the bishop's council, and assisted him by their 
advice in affairs of moment, began now to feel this quasi- 
monastic discipline growing irksome. Wot content with the 
distribution of the property ordered by Giinther, Archbishop 
of Cologne (a. d. 873), into foundations for cathedral and col- 
legiate chapters, under one of which two heads the canons 
might class themselves, according as they had belonged to 
cathedral or other churches,^ they insisted, in the tenth cen- 
tury, that such a division should be made as would secure to 
each his individual revenue or prebend. It was in vain that 
good, holy bishops exerted themselves to prevent this division 
and restore the ancient mode of canonical life. Their efforts 
being but poorly seconded, their only effect was to beget a 
protracted struggle between the two parties of the canons, 
secular and regular (canonici saeculares et regulares).^ 

Two circumstances at this time contributed to secure a 
greater freedom of action to cathedral canons, and to increase 
their influence in the administration of the diocese ; for while, 
on the one hand, the right of electing bishops was vested in 
them, on the other, the bishops were so mixed up in secular 
affairs that they omitted holding diocesan synods and synodal 

iSeep. 161. 

2 Condi. Colon., anno 873, in Mansi, T. XVII., p. 275. Barduin, T. IV., Pt. I., 
p. 137. 

' Complaints on the decay of canonical life, in Yves, Bishop of Chartres (about 
1092), epist. 215: Quod vero communis vita in omnibus Ecclesiis pene defecit, 
tam civilibus quam dioecesanis, nee auctoritati, sed desuetudini et defeetui 
adscribendum est, refrigescente charitate, quae omnia vult habere communia, 
et regnante cupiditate, quae non quaerit ea, quae Dei sunt et proximi, sed tan- 
tum quae sunt propria. See, likewise, Tetthem. Chronic. Hirsaug. ad a. 975, on 
the canons of Treves: Canonici majoris eccl. St. .Petri Trevirorum, qui sub 
certa regula in communi usque in hoc tempus vixerunt, abjecta pristinae con- 
versationis norma desierunt esse regulares, distributionibus inter se factis prae- ' 
bendarum: et qui prius more Apostolorum omnia habuere communia, coeperuiit 
jam deinceps singuli possidere propria. Quorum exemplura secuti plures Cano. 
nici in Wormatia et Spira, quod ideo fieri potuit, quia in multis temporibus muUa 
Tnutantur. The ineffectual attempts at reestablishing it, Cone. Rom., a. 1059, 
can. IV., and Cone. Rom., a. 1068, c. 4, in Hardnin, T. VI., Pt. I., pp. 1062, llr'ig. 
Mami, T. XIX., pp. 908, 1025. Cf Thomaasini 1. c, Pt. I., lib. III., c. 11 ; Pt 
III., lib. II., c. 23, nro. 2. HSfl&r, 1. c, Pt. II., p. 308 sq. 



352 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Cha'pter 3. 

courts, which they were obliged by the canons to convoke an- 
nually.^ 

During and after the lifetime of Heddo, Archbishop of 
Strasburg, many dioceses were divided into several arch- 
deaconries, presided over by an equal number of archdeacons,^ 
who could not be deprived of their office except by canonical 
sentence. They possessed great influence in the administra- 
tion of the diocese, and, in case of a vacancy, took the direc- 
tion of affairs into their own hands.' The Great Archdeacon 
(archidiaconus magnus) of the cathedral, who was usually 
the Dean (praepositus) of the canons, frequently formed with 
the other archdeacons of the diocese, or rural archdeacons, a 
chapter or college, which by degrees acquired, in its collective 
capacity, an ordinary (propria, ordinaria) and extensive juris- 
diction, while its several members, now, as formerly, the 
representatives of the bishop, enjoyed singly only a delegated 
authority (jurisdictio delegata). 

Subordinate to the archdeaconries were the so-called rural 
chapters, over which a.rchpriests or deans presided, and the 
establishment of which was frequently pressed upon the bish- 
ops as a duty. 

In order to kindle and keep alive the zeal of the clergy in 
the great work of saving souls, pastoral conferences were estab- 

' The ordinances of St. Bmiiface on this head are numerous, and adapted to 
almost every exigency. Ep. 105 : Statuimus, ut per annos singulos unusquisque 
presbyter episcopo suo in quadragesima rationem ministerii sui reddat, sive de 
fide catholica, sive de baptismo, sive de omni ordine ministerii sui. — Et moneat 
metropolitanus, ut episcopi a synodo venientes in propria paroohia cum presby- 
teris et abbatibus conventum habentes, praecepta synodi servare insinuando 
praecipiant. This ordinance was incorporated into the Capitularies of the 
Erankish kings. According to later ordinances, the diocesan synod was to be 
hold even twice a year, but this was seldom carried into effect. For a thorough 
knowle.lge of this institution, originating in that age, it is highly important to 
read the admonitio, or sermo synodalis, qui in singulis Synodis parochianis 
presbyteris annuntiandus est, which is ascribed to various authors. See in Sar- 
duin, Coll. Concil., T. VI., Pt. I., p. 873-879 ; in MaTisi and Hofler, p. 471. Of. 
Phillips, The Diocesan Synod, p. 44-62. 

2Seep. 137. 

' Cf. Thomasslni 1. c, Pt. I., lib. II., c. 19 and 20. Planch, Constitution of 
Christian Society, Vol. III., p. 708 sq. Pertsch, Origin of Archdeacons, Hildes- 
hcim, 1743. Binterim, Memorab., Vol. I., Pt. I., p. 386 sq. Freiburg, EccL 
Cyol., Vol. I., p. 405 sq. | Erench transl., Vol. I., p. 503. 



§ 195. Metropolitans, Bishops, and Their Deacons. 350 

lished, under the name of " Calendae" — so called because tliej 
were held on the first day of every month, except when that 
happened to be a Sunday or holy day.^ The calendae were 
at first intended to supply the place of provincial and dio- 
cesan synods, which had now ceased to be held. In some 
countries the bishops prescribed the holding of them as early 
as the ninth century, and, from this time onward, they con- 
tinued to be pretty well kept up until the thirteenth, after 
which we hear no more of them until the time of St. Charles 
Borromeo. 

It was the duty of the archpriest or dean to call the priests 
together, and to indicate the place of meeting, which was 
always the residence of some one of those composing the 
rural chapter. Each member had a right to speak on the 
subject brought before the chapter, and to vote for or against 
the acceptance of any measure. The subject to be submitted 
was selected by the bishop, and, after action had beeq taken, 
sent back to him for final judgment. 

'So priests except such as had the care of souls, whether 
secular or religious, were admitted into these conferences ; 
and should any one of those whose duty it was to be present 
absent himself without a valid reason, he was condemned to 
pay a fine. 

But, notwithstanding the undoubted utility which priests 
derived from coming together in these conferences, and dis- 
cussing practical issues and solving knotty questions, it was 
found next to impossible to keep them up regularly, or to 
have them frequent enough to do any considerable good. 
Bishops endeavored to force attendance, first by admonitions, 
and then by penalties, but with indifferent success ; and were 
at last obliged to limit the number of yearly conferences to 

' Conf. Binterim, Diocesan Synods, p. 101-108. Such conferences, according 
to Thomasstni, Pt. II., lib. III., c. 74; Regino, lib. I., c. 216; Harduin, T. VI., p. 
420; Acta Concil. Mediolan., and other authorities, were prescribed at various 
times. Thus, by Charlemagne, in his Capitularies; by Herardus, Bp. of Tours; 
Hincmar, Abp. of Kheims; Eiculf, Bp. of Sitten; Ulrich, Bp. of Augsburg; 
Atto, Bp. of Vercelli; in England, by the Council of Exeter (1131), and of 
London (1237). Frethurg, Eccl. Cyclop., art. Conference, Er. trans., Vol. V., 
p. 152. (Tk.) 

VOL. II — 23 



354 Period 2. Eiwcli 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 

three, then to two, and finally to one, which was -equivalent 
to discontinuing them entirely. 

What the circumstances were which conspired to interfere 
with the holding of these conferences, it is not to our purpose 
to inquire ; hut probahly a sufficient one may be supplied by 
the fact that, while they are desirable and may be made use- 
ful, they are not absolutely necessary, and have never beeu 
prescribed either by a general council or a papal decree. 
Moreover, unlike any other institution of general acceptance 
in the Church, they came into existence, not in a regular 
order of development, but, as it were, fortuitously, at certain 
times and in particular countries. At first, they were held in 
some of the districts of France, Germany, and England; later 
on, in Italy and Belgium ; and at the present day, in Ireland. 
They are, then, more dependent on fortuitous circumstances, 
and on the action of individuals, than upon any great prin- 
ciple aiad recognized law. It is, however, very true that their 
introduction is usually preceded by a decay of morals, laxity 
of discipline, and neglect of study among the clergy; and, 
though not absolutely and universally necessary, they may be 
very useful under certain circumstances and in given localities. 
But of their utility or necessity the bishops are the judges. 

Parish rights were not defined before the middle of the 
eleventh century, and then only in episcopal cities.' Popes 
Eugene II. (a. d. 826) and John IX. (a. d. 904) issued ordi- 
nances forbidding bishops to apply to their own use any of 
the land or other immovable property belonging to the estates 
of the Church.^ 

§ 196. Church Property. 

Thomassini Vet. et Nov. Eccl. Disoip., Pt. III., lib. I., c. 7, 14, 22, 28, and 29. 

Piety has always been the motive which has inspired Chris- 
tians to give generously to the Church, whether in the form 

' The Council of Limoges, in the year 1031, decides, in spite of the opposition 
of the oanon.s of cathedrals, that baptism and preaching may be performed in 
these city parishes. See Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., p. 886 sq. ; Mans!., T. XIX., p. 543, 

^Eugene, at the Synod of Eome, can. 16, and John, at a Synod of Kavenna, 
can. 10. 



§ 196. Church Property. 355 

of donations or bequests, and has consequently been the un- 
failing source of her wealth. This was abundantly exempli- 
fied toward the close of the tenth century, when Christians 
were anticipating the end of the world, getting i-id of their 
property, and making pilgrimages to the Ploly Land. The 
most extensive of the possessions of the Church were held in 
fief, but those which did her most honor were the desert lands 
that had been reclaimed by the energy and the toil of her 
monks. People soon began to cry out that the Church was 
growing excessively wealthy, and to these the Synod of Paris 
(a. d. 829) replied that "she could never come into possession 
of too mucA property if she administered it well and put it 
to proper use." Moreover, people were willing to see wealth 
in possession of an institution which distributed the proceeds 
of it with such prodigality among the poor. Henceforth the 
tithes, which had long since legally belonged to the Church, 
were regularly paid, and a synod held in the year 909 wished 
to impose their payment upon every branch of industry. 

The Jura Stolae, as they are called, belonged to the priests. 
As every ecclesiastical function is of itself absolutely free 
and gratuitous, the "'perquisites" were always regarded as 
voluntary gifts. 

The Church has, in every age, looked with suspicion upon 
the practice of accepting State grants to pay her clergy, inas- 
much as it impairs her dignity and jeopardizes her liberty. 
.^though the Church had always claimed and the State al- 
■p/ays granted the exemption of ecclesiastical property from 
taxation, still both Church and clergy were at times heavily 
burdened. Men of coarse instincts and violent tempers, dis- 
regarding every legal restriction, plundered her property, 
and, sheltering themselves under the iniquitous and barbar- 
ous usage known as the right of spoliation (jus spolii sen jus 
rapite capita), not unfrequently made attempts upon the lives 
of clergymen in order to come at their possessions.' 

' Bonn, Philosophical and Theological Sevue, nros. 23-25, in "Scientific Dis- 
cussions." 



356 Period 2. Ejjoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 3. 



§ 197. Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction — Immunities of the Clergy. 

Following the precedent of the Eoman emperors,' Charle- 
magne and Louis the Mild permitted the bishops to exercise 
considerable jurisdiction in such matters as marriages, last 
wills, oaths, usury, and the like. When necessary, they were 
authorized to call upon the nobles of the empire to assist 
them in bringing before their tribunals sinners who had been 
condemned to public penance. They alone had authority to 
try and pass judgment upon ecclesiastics. In extreme cases, 
clergymen were sentenced to imprisonment for life in some 
monastery. It seldom happened that they were_ deprived of 
their dignity and handed over to the secular authority. 

Hincmar of Rheims,^ though a warm defender of the priv- 
ileges and immunities of ecclesiastics, still held, that, in liti- 
gation with laics in suits involving real estate, they should 
send persons to represent them in the secular courts. If the 
accused were a bishop, he had the privilege of being tried by 
a court of bishops — a privilege conceded by princes, even 
when the charges brought forward were of a purely political 
nature; such, for example, as high treason. 

It would also seem that this was the court of judicature, 
where charges were made by a bishop against a prince. 

'Seep. 127. 

^Htncmar wrote a special treatise on this subject when his cousin, the Bishop 
of Laon, who had been deprived of the temporalities of his see by Charles the 
Bald, refused to appear before the King's court. 



CHAPTER IV. 

RELIGIOUS LIFE — WORSHIP — DISCIPLINE. 

Ratherii Veronensis de Conlemptu Canonum ; Discordia inter ipsum et cleri- 
CDs; Apologia sui ipsius; Itinerarium et epist. (opp. ed. Ballerini, Veron. 1765, 
fol. Migne, Ser. Lat., T. 13G; also in dAchiry, Spicilegium, T. I. Atto Vercd- 
hmsis, de Pressuris Ecclesiasticis, libb. VIII., and epist. d Achiry^ Spieileg., T. I. 
Fitri Damiani epist., libri VIII. Of special importance for this are the written 
instructions on the life of priests and laics, from the time of Pope Gregory V., 
in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 174-199; in German, in nsflcr's German Popes, Vol. I., 
p. 185-195. 

§ 198. The Morals of the Clergy. 

Tou are tlie salt of the earth ; but if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted ? 
Matt. T. 13. 

The bishops of this period were more concerned in main- 
taining their position as secular princes than in saving souls 
and looking after the interests of the Church over which they 
were set. It was not an unusual thing for them to wield the 
sword in the contests of factions. 

In proportion as the empire declined and wars multiplied, 
the lower clergy grew daily more dissolute. Their total dis- 
regard of discipline and depravity of morals were unprece- 
dented in any former age of the Church; and their ignorance 
was such that the questions which they were required to 
answer, before being permitted to go up for orders, were of 
the most elementary character.^ Was it possible for such a 



^ Batherius — who, however, is more or less given to the use of harsh lan- 
guage — when speaking of these times, says in his Uinera,rium : " Sciscitatus 
itaque de fide illorum (Glericorum Veronensium) inveni plurimos neque ipsum 
sapere symbolum, quod fuisse creditur Apostolorum. Hac occasione Synodicam 
scribere omnibus Presbyteris sum compulsus," etc. In this Synodica, it is said, 
among other things: "Ipsam fidem — trifarie parare memoriae festinetis h. e. 
secundum symbolum — Apostolorum — et illam, quae ad Missam canitur, et 
illam S. Athanasii, quae ita incipit: 'Quicumque vult salvus esse.' Quicumque 
vult ergo Sacerdos in nostra parochia esse, aut fieri, aut permanere, ilia, fratres, 
memoriter nobis recitet, cum proximo a nobis hue vocatus fuerit. — • Moneo et 

(357) 



358 Period 2. Epoch 1. Fart 2. Chajpter 4. 

clergy to exert any, influence for good upon the people? But 
it was not until the latter half of the tenth century that the 
clergy reached the lowest depth of degradation. Unchastity 
and simony were the prevailing vices. In many places the 
rule of celibacy was wholly ignored, and so great was the 
extent of the evil, and so deep the disgrace which attached 
to ecclesiastics, that those of them who lived an honorable 
married life were accounted virtuous, and dreaded either to 
give their own daughters in marriage to clergj^men, or to 
permit their sons to take orders and become their successors. 
Although the condition of the clergy, when taken at its 
best, was bad enough, it is also true that the accounts that 
have come down are a trifle overdrawn, and of too general a 
character to command full credence when the charges are so 
grave. But if some of the clergy were stained with the 
vices, others were adorned with the virtues of their age ; 
for, if a large class of them had not lived virtuous and holy 
lives, it would be impossible to account for the fact that they 
steadily grew in the esteem and reverence of the people. For 
what could insure the good opinion of others in their regard, 
if it were not fidelity to the virtues of their state? The zeal- 
ous, but at times imprudent, Eatherius of Verona lifted up his 
voice, in the tenth century, to vindicate the honor of the priest- 
hood. "When dying, he composed this characteristic epitaph 
for himself : " Wayfarer, trample under foot the salt which has 
lost its savor." The efforts ofAtto, Bishop of Vercelli (f c. a. d. 

jam vos de die dominica ut cogitetis, aut si cogitare nescitis, interrogetis, quare 
ita voootur. — Ut unusquisque vestrum, si fieri potest, expositionem Symboli et 
orationis Dominicae juxta traditionem Orthodoxorum penes se scriptam habeat, 
et earn pleniter intelligat, et inde, si novit, praedicando populum sibi commissum 
sedulo instruat ; si non, saltern teneat vel credat. Orationes Missae et Canonem 
bene intelligat, et si non, saltern memoriter ac distincte proferre valeat: Episto- 
1am et Evangelium bene legere possit, et utinam saltern ad litteram ejus seusum 
posset manifestare," etc. {D'AcMri/, Spioileg., T. I., pp. 381, 376 and 378.) 

We may obtain a more accurate knowledge of the degree of learning among 
the clergy, at the beginning of the latter half of the present epoch, from HetH, 
A.rohbishop of Treves (a. d. 820-847), Ivryppoyanaveg quas suis proposuit audi- 
loribus (an unpublished manuscript belonging to the monastery of St. Maxi- 
min, at Treves), from which it appears that clerics were made to undergo a 
close and thorough examination, not only on the Pater Noster and Credo, but 
also on the mystery of the Trinity. 



§ 199. Religions Orders of this Epoch. 359 

960), and of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (a. d. 990), 
to have their clergy observe the rule of celibacy, were more 
prudent and moderate, and, on this account, much more s-uc- 
cessful. The clergy, and even the secular power itself, yielded 
to the firm and inflexible will and authority of Dunstan. 

"When, in the eleventh century, beginning with Pope Leo 
IX. (a. d. 1048), papal elections ceased to be under the re- 
straints of secular interference, and men of austere morals, 
chastened zeal, and prudent solicitude for the true interests 
of the Church ascended the chair of St. Peter, the clergy, 
finding no encouragement for their evil-doing in the lives of 
the Popes, commenced to reform their own and regain some- 
thing of the honor they had lost. In restoring the dignity 
and maintaining the holiness of the priesthood,^ Peter Damian, 
Cardinal-Bishoj) of Ostia, and Deacon Hildebrand played a 
conspicuous part, laboring unceasinglj', and at times having 
recourse to unusual means to effect their purpose. Their 
efforts were ably seconded by the Fatarian Confederation- in 
Upper Italy. 

The zeal of Damian was at times not entirely under con- 
trol, and, yielding to its promptings, he wrote a manifestly 
exaggerated account of the state of morality among th6 
clergy, which Alexander II. suppressed, because he believed 
that its publication would do more harm than good. 

The result of the labors of these champions of the faith, 
supplemented by those of the monastic ord,ers, which had a 
large share in the work of clerical reformation, began to ap- 
pear in the revival of spiritual life among the clergy, of which 
there were now many tokens. 

§ 199. Religious Orders of this Epoch. Cf. §§ 142 and 168. 

Bibliotheca Cluniaoensis in qua SS. PP. abbatum vitae, miracula, scripta 
rec, cura M. Marrier et Andr. Quercetani, Par. 1614, fol. Ordo Clun., written 
in the eleventh century (Vet. discipl. monastioa, ed. HerrgoU., Par. 1726, p. 133). 
Antiquiores consuett. Clun. monast., libb. III., by Vlricus Cluniacens., written 
for Hirsau, 1070 {cHAchiry, Spicileg., T. I., p. 641-703). The vitae Bernon., 
Odon., Odilon., Romicaldi, by Peter Damian, Joan. Gualberti {Maiillon, Acta, SS. 
Ord. St. Bened. saec. V., T. I.) tLorratn, Essai historique sur I'abbaye da 

1 See § 190. 



360 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

Clugny, Dijon, 1839; Germ, ed., Tubg. 1857. Vita S. Wilhelmi, Constt. Hir- 
Baug. [Herrgoii. 1. c, p. 375.) Silyoi, Hist, des Convents et des Ordres de 
Ohe.valerie, T. V. Henrion, Hist, des Ordres Eeligieux. 

In convents of both men and women, there had also been 
a relaxation of discipline during this epoch, but it was quickly 
checked, and the severity of monas tic life^restored. By a 
decree of a council of the year 742, the Rule of St. Benedict 
was made obligatory upon all the monasteries of the Frank- 
ish Empire. Boniface, by his zeal and labors, greatly in- 
creased the number of cloisters, over which he watched with 
assiduous care — always on the alert to preserve the integrity 
of discipline, and to restore it where it had become relaxed. 
To this holy bishop did the great monasteries of Fulda, Hers- 
feld,^ and others in Germany, owe their origip. These were 
important as centers of ecclesiastical training and general 
culture; but scarcely less so were those of St. Gall, Reichenau, 
St.- Blaise in the Black Forest, Rheinau on an island of the 
Rhine below Schafl'hausen, Prum in the diocese of Treves; 
and, still later on, those of Corvey in Saxony, Tegemsee in 
Bavaria, and many others. But, unfortunately, excessive 
/wealth, exemption from episcopal jurisdiction,^ and the gov- 
ernment of lay abbots, brought on the usual results, and these 
monasteries, whose members had at one time been distin- 
iguished for their observance of rule, their piety, and their 
learning, became prominent for their absence of discipline 
and disregard of the moral law. The zealous and holy Bene- 
dict of Aniane (f a. d. 821), with the co-operation of Louis the 
Mild, set about reforming his monks, and, in a short time, 
made them models of order and piety for the whole Frankish 
Empire.^ Religious life and letters owe much to this revival 
of the Benedictine order by a reformer bearing the name of 
the illustrious founder; but, unfortunately, the reforms thua 
auspiciously begun were not generally taken up, nor did they 

I 
iSee§168. 

2 The complete rule, explained in MabUl. ann. Bened., T. II., p. 435. Manst, 
T. XIV., p. 394 sq. Benedict. Anian. Codex Kegularum (of tlie East and West) 
and Concordia Eegulai-um, in Migne, Ser. Lat., T. 103. Conf. tNicolai, St. Bene- 
dict, Founder of Aniane, and CornelimUmter (Inda, near Aix-la-Chapelle) 
Cologne, 1865. 



§ 199. ileligious Orders of this Epoch. 361 

exert any permanent influence. Again, while, on the one 
hand, little attention was paid to the decrees of the Council 
of Rome (a. d. 827) prohibiting the election of lay abbots, on 
the other, the monks were dispersed and their monasteries 
pillaged during the disorders consequent upon the strife of 
parties within the Frankish Empire, and the attacks of the 
!N"ormans on the western, and of the Hungarians on the east- 
ern frontiers; and, when they again returned to their former 
mode of life, they brought with them the spirit and vicious 
habits of men of the world, and could not, without difficulty, 
bring themselves to give up the opportunities and means of 
enjoyment which their great wealth placed within their 
reach, and live in the spirit of their vow of poverty. The 
accounts furnished us by the councils of Metz and Trosly 
(a. d. 909), of the life led by the monks of this time, are 
startling.' 

But in the midst of so much that was distressing, there were 
not wanting tokens of better things. Through the zeal and 
the labors of William of Aquitaine, a monk of the Abbey of 
Clugny, in the diocese of M^con, spiritual life began to revive, 
and it became evident that the libei'ty of the Church,^ though 
delayed for a time, would eventually be obtained. The splen- 
did reputation of this abbey was, in great measure, owing 
to the exertions of the pious Berno (a. d. 910), its first abbot. 

'Capit. III.: De monasteriorum vero non statu, sed lapsu quid dicere vel 
agere debeamus, jam pene ambigimus. Dum enim mole criminum exigente, et 
judicium a domo Domini incipiente, quaedam a Paganis succensa vel destructa, 
quaedam rebus spoliata et ad nihilum prope sint redacta, si tamen quorumdam 
adhuc videntur superesse vestigia, nulla in eis regularis formae servantur insti- 
tuta. Sive namque monaohorum seu canonicorum seu sint sanctimonialium, 
propriis et sibi jure competentibus carent reotoribus, et dum contra omnem 
eoclesiae auctoritatem praelatis utuntur extraneis, in eis degentes partim indi- 
gentia, partim malevolentia, maximeque inliabilium sibi praepositorum faciente 
inconvenientia, moribus vivunt incompositis ; et qui sanctitati religionique cae- 
lesti intenti esse debuerant, sui velut propositi immemores, terrenis negotiis 
vacant; quidam etiam, necessitate cogente, monasteriorum septa derelinquunt, 
et volentes nolentesque saeoularibus juncti saeoulariii exercent, cum e contra 
dicat Apostolus: Nemo milUans Deo implicat se negotiis saecularibus. (ilansi, 
T. XVIII., p. 270. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. 1., p. 510.) 

^ Clarus, William, Duke of Aquitaine, one of the great men of the world, and 
one of the Saints of the Church, Miinster, 1864. 



362 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

St. Odo, a man of still greater ability than St. Berno, his mas- 
ter in the spiritual life, and successor as abbot (a. d. 924-941), 
knew how to conciliate the good will of men, and governed 
his monastery with such firmness and prudence as to com- 
mand the respect and elicit the admiration of all. Under 
Aymar, Maiolus, and particularly under Odilo (a. d. 994-1048), 
and Hugh, the successor to Odo, this asylum of holiness and 
learning went on steadily increasing in importance and in- 
fluence till finally, toward the close of this epoch, there 
were to be found many monasteries even in Spain and far-ofi 
Poland, which recognized the jurisdiction of the Abbot oj 
Clugny. 

William, the worthy disciple of Maiolus, labored effectuallj 
for the reformation of monasteries, and the establishment of 
schools in Normandy and I^Torthern France; and Richard, 
Abbot of Vannes, at Verdun, was equally successful in cor- 
recting the abuses which had crept into the monasteries of 
Belgium. The monks of Clugny kept the Rule of St. Bene- 
dict in all its primitive severity, observing perpetual silence, 
making public confession of their sins, working at manual 
labor, and leaving it only when called to perform some other 
duty, or to engage in prayer and the singing of the Psalter.' 

For two centuries, the monks of the great abbey of Clugny, 
and those who went forth from it to labor in distant lands, 
sustained by their influence and example the spiritual life of 
Christendom, were the guardians and fosterers of science and I 
learning, made a life of asceticism honorable, and, down to 
the days of St. Bernard, had a share in nearly every impor- 
tant affair of the Church.^ 

In Germany, the monastery of Hirschau, founded by Erla- 
fried. Count of Calw, in the year 838, had, upon the death of 
Abbot Conrad (a. d. 1000), been deserted, and now stood 
greatly in need of repair. At the instance of Pope Leo IX., 

^ Antiqq. consuet., lib. II., c. 3 : Silentium in ecclesia, dormitorio, refeotorio 
et coquina— novitius opus habet, ut signa diligenter addiscat, quibua taoens 
quodammodo loquatur, c. 4. A description of the signa loquendi, in Stolberg- 
Kerz, Pt. XXXI., p. 386-431. 

'*Kerkcr, Blessed William, Abbot of Hirschau, etc., the restorer of South 
German Monastioism in the age of Gregoi-y VII. Vol. I. 



§ 199. Religious Orders of this Epoch. 363 

it was restored by Adelbert II., also Count of Calw (since 
the year 1059), and put into the possession of a colony of 
monks from the monastery of Our Lady of Hermits. It rap- 
idly rose in importance under William^ formerly Prior of St. 
Emmerara, at Ratisbon, who became its abbot a. d. 1071, and 
reorganized it after the model of Clugny.' It soon acquired 
an extensive reputation, and from it went forth, during the 
abbacy of William, fresh colonies of monks to make new 
foundations, of which the best known are those of Reichen- 
bach, in the valley of the Murg; St. George, at the sources of 
the Danube ; Weilheim, under the Teck, which was some time 
later transferred to Brisgovia, under the name of St. Peters; 
besides many others. When the abbot William had com- 
pleted these labors, besides others of a literary character, bn 
died, full of years and honor, July 5, a. d. 1091. 

During the terrible conflict of parties whicli raged in Italy, 
the monks of the Benedictine convent of Monte Cassino were 
the only religious of that country who carried out in practice 
the holy traditions of their order ; and though their influence 
was not sufficiently powerful to efiect the reformation of other 
monasteries into which the spirit of worldliness had entered,^ 
it was nevertheless sufficiently attractive to draw out of the 
very hurry and bustle of life a number of generous souls, who 
had grown weary of the world and its sinfulness, and yearned 
for a retreat where they might find quiet and peace of soul. 

Such was Romuald, a member of the ducal family of Ea^ 
venna. When in the thirty-second year of his age, he was 
present at a duel, in which his father was one of the parties 
engaged, and seeing the latter plunge a knife into his adver- 
sary, he was so shocked at the deed, that he at once withdrew 
to the monastery of Monte Cassino, and gave himself up to a 
life of penance and prayer. After having passed many years 
among the mountains and in the depths of the forests, he 
made his appearance in Upper Italy, and began to preach 
penance to immoral and simoniacal priests; and so irresisti- 

^Oreeven, Activity of the Monks of Clugny during the eleventh century, in 
Church and State, Wesel, 1870. Gfrorer, Pope Gregory VII., Vol. I. 

' Tosti, Storia della Badia di Montecassino, Napoli, 1842 sq. Freiburg, Eccl 
Cyclopaedia, Vol. VII., p. 277 sq.; French trans., Vol. 15, p. 279. 



364 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

ble was his speech, and so subduing his glance,' that the 
most abandoned and obstinate of them, when appealed to by 
him, at once entered upon a change of life, and the most 
tepid grew active and energetic. 

As his life drew near its close, he gathered about him a 
number of souls similar in tastes and dispositions to his own, 
and retiring to Camaldoli, a desert place among the Apennines, 
not far distant from Arezzo, in Tuscany, he laid the founda- 
tion of a new order (a. d. 1018), the members of which were 
clothed in a white habit,^ and were known, from the place 
where they originated, as Camaldolites. They were composec 
partly of hermits and partly of cenobites : never spoke t(i 
each other, and abstained entirely from flesh -meat, and wine 
The order was approved by Pope Alexander II., and it wae 
not long until the Prior-General of Camaldoli had nine mon- 
asteries under his direction. 

The order of Vallombrosa, in Tuscany, founded in the year 
1038 by St. John Gualbert, a member of a noble Tuscan fam- 
ily, was, if anything, still more austere than that of the 
Camaldolites. John had had an experience somewhat simi- 
lar to that passed through by Romuald. Pie was charged 
by his father to take a bloody vengeance upon the murderer 
of his brother Hugh, and, coming up with the object of his 
search on Good Friday, in a narrow defile, where escape was 
impossible, he made directly for him. The murderer threw 
himself upon his knees, and, arranging his arms in the form 
of a cross, besought his antagonist to show mercy out of love 
of Him who that day suffered for all. From respect for the 
symbol of salvation, and touched with the beauty of the ap- 
peal, John not only granted the prayer of the murderer, but 
took him to bis bosom and adopted him in place of the 
brother he had lost. He then withdrew to pray in the neigh- 
boring monastery of San Miniate, and, while kneeling there 
before a crucifix, saw the figure of our Savior incline its head 

1 His biographer, Poter Damian, relates that a certain great lord said of him 
(hat, "No look of an emperor, or of any other mortal, filled him with such 
terror, as the look of Komuald. He was at a loss what to say, or how to exouso 
himself." Life of Romuald, § 66. (Tr.) 

2 The rule of the order, in Holstenii Cod. regul. Monast., T. II., p. 194 sq. 



§ 199. Religious Orders of this Epoch. 365 

toward him. Accepting this as a token of Divine approval 
of what he had done, he at once entered npon an ascetical 
life, commenced the practice of great austerities, aud ended 
by founding an order,^ whose members were clothed in an 
ash-colored garment and observed the Rule of St. Benedict^ 
in its more severe form. It was the original intention that 
the members of these, two orders should lead an eremitical 
life, but this design was afterward given up, aud they came 
together in monasteries, where each endeavored, by the holi- 
ness of his life, to contribute to the profit and edification of 
all the rest, and to their advancement in the spiritual perfec- 
tion. 

So great and beneficial was the influence exercised by 
monastic houses during the eighth and ninth centuries, that 
kings and bishops willingly accorded them the right of freely 
electing their abbots and administering their temporal affairs. 
Freedom from restraint in the election of abbots was claimed 
as an ordinary and natural right by the Rule of St. Benedict, 
and was recognized by civil and ecclesiastical law. The 
monks were confirmed in their natural rights hy popes, and 
sometimes protected against the arbitrary measures of bish- 
ops. The popes also exercised a direct jurisdiction over 
some monasteries, without, however, coming into conflict 
with the ordinary jurisdiction of bishops. But, as time went 
on, matters changed. In the eleventh century, the prepon- 
derance of papal power, and the ambition, avarice, and ty- 
ranny of the bishops,^ both co-operated, each in its own way, 
to withdraw the monasteries, in a measure, from the juris- 
diction of bishops, and to obtain for them extensive privi- 
leges. Thus, for example, some monasteries were exempted 
from episcopal visitation, and neither could a bishop depose 
their abbots. The only right left to the bishop was to bless 
the abbot, to ordain the monks, and to consecrate the churches 
and altars of the monastery. Clugny, which possessed more 
extensive privileges than any other abbey, had also the right 

' We have preferred to foHow the Eoman Breviary. (Te.) 
■'" Vallia TJmbrosae Congregationis statuta adhuo nanoisci nobis non contigit,' 
is said in Holsientus-Brockie, T. II., p. 303. 
»See i 200, and also Bollinger, Ch. H., Vol. III., p. 196 sq. (Tk.) 



366 Period 2. EiMch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

of choosing the bishop to perform these functions. These 
grants, made by Alexander II. to Cliigny, were confirmed by 
the Council of Ch^lon,^ held a. d. 1063. 

§ 200. Condition of the Church in the Leading Countries of 

Europe. 

Conf. DolUnger, Hist, of the Church, Eng. trans;, Vol. III. (Period III., o. 5), 
p. 203-271. 

The religious life of the bulk of the people, during the 
early half of the present epoch, was a faithful copy of that 
of the Koman pontiff's. The contrasts presented by different 
countries, in the course of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh cen- 
turies, are so marked that it is impossible to speak of them 
in general terms, or to bring them under one head. It is 
therefore necessary to take up the most important kingdoms 
of Europe in turn, and give a brief sketch of the condition 
of the Church in each. 

The Frankish Empire} — The unhappy dissensions and civil 
wars which broke out under Louis the Mild and his sons not 
only disturbed the peace of the great empire, but also se- 
riously interfered with the development of the Church, re- 
tarded the growth of ecclesiastical discipline, and relaxed 
the bonds of Christian morality. The councils of Coulaines, 
Thionville, Loire, Beauvais, and Meaux, held during the 
reign of Charles the Bald, could do but little to check the 
prevailing disorders. Their decrees were unheeded amid the 
ceaseless din of civil strife ; and the constantly renewed in- 
vasions of the ISTormans, who plundered the monasteries and 
pulled down the churches, completed the wreck of civil order 
and ecclesiastical discipline. The great scholars who had 
given celebrity to the schools of Charlemagne had all passed 
away by the year 875, leaving none able to take their places. 

■ Cone. Cabillomnse, in Mansi, T. XIX., p. 1025 sq. Harduin, T. VI., Pt. I., 
p. 1139 sq. Mabillm, Annal. Bened., lib. LXII., Num. 12. Conf. GfrBrer, Ch. 
H., Vol. III., p. 1487 sq. 

^Flodoardi Historia Eocl. Eemensis., see Migne, Ser. Lat., T. 135. Glaher 
Radulpkus, Hist. Erancor. (Bouquet, T. X.) Le Cointe, Annal. Ecclesiastic! 
Francor., Par. 1668, f., T. IV.-VIII. Longueval, Histoire de I'eglise Gallicane, 
Par. 1732, T. IV.-VII., nouv. ed. par Jaeger. 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 367 

So great was the ignorance of the clergy, that Frotier, Bishop 
of Poitiers, and Fulrad, Bishop of Paris, requested (a. d. 910) 
Abbo, a monk of the monastery of St. G-ermain, to compose 
a Book of Homilies (Homiliariam), from which priests might 
gain sufficient knowledge of the Christian religion to enable 
them to instruct the people in fundamental truths; and the 
fathers of the Council of Trosly (a. d. 909), speaking on the 
same subject, complained that many Christians had grown 
old without having learned the Our Father or the Creed. It 
was not long before the Carlovingian dynasty, weakened by 
the incessant encroachment of the powerful vassals of the 
empire, tottered to its ruin, and with it disappeared the re- 
spect and reverence that the people had hitherto manifested 
toward the Church. Daring the continuance of this political 
chaos it was impossible for the bishops of the Church to as- 
semble in council and provide measures against existing and 
coming evils ; and so universal and thrQatening were the dis- 
orders, that both civil and ecclesiastical society seemed on the 
point of a general break-up. As an example, it will b,e suf- 
ficient to instance the conduct of the powerful Herbert, Count 
of Vermandois, who (c. A. D. 925) had his son Hugh, a child of 
five years of age, appointed Archbishop of Pheims. But he 
was probably not so culpable as Pope John X., who had the 
assurance' to confirm the appointment, and to intrust the 
spiritual administration of the archdiocese to Abbo, Bishop 
of Soissons.* 

It was about this time that that band of devoted men, 
gathered together in the monastery of Clugny^ gave promise 
of better things, not only to the Prankish Empire, but to 
every other Christian country as well. This auspicious be- 
ginning was supplemented by the restoration of political 
affairs in the Prankish Empire, under the new dynasty, of 
which Hugh Capet was the first representative (a. d. 987). It 
was also at this time that the Church, strongly impressed 
with the conviction that royal power could not make head 
against the encroachments of ignorant, insolent, powerful 

' Flodoardi Hist. Bcol. Ehem., lib. IV., o. 20. 



368 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

vassals, resolved to do what she could for the maiutenance of 
law and order, and accordingly introduced the Truce of God 
and punished all infractions of it with ecclesiastical censures. 
These constantly increased in severity, till, in the course of 
the tenth century, they included the Interdict, which was so 
much the more dreaded, in that it went beyond the person of 
the offender and affected his possessions also. At times, whole 
countries, which had passed under the sway of some unscru- 
pulous and powerful tyrant, were laid under interdict; but 
when such an exceptional state of things existed, provision 
was always made to enable the innocent to avail themselves 
of the means of sanctification. Bishops believed themselves 
justified in inflicting these censures out of a regard for the 
public welfare and from an instinct of self-preservation. But 
a weapon so powerful in those times, and one which should 
have been appealed to only on extraordinary occasions and 
for exceptional purposes, and then only by men of the great- 
est prudence, could not fail, at times, to become an instru- 
ment' of mischief and danger, when placed in the hands of 
unworthy and worldly minded bishops. We have an exam- 
ple in point, in Eobert, Archbishop of Eouen, who, because 
he was engaged in a quarrel with Duke Robert, placed the 
whole province of Normany under interdict. 

The Church made many efforts at this time to restore ec- 
clesiastical discipline and purity of life, but the clergy, who 
had gone on, from day to day, violating their vow of chastity 
and securing benefices by simoniacal means, refused to listen 
to her admonitions and give up their habits of sin. 

There were eighty councils held in France during the elev- 
enth century, and of these there was not a single one in which 
a protest of the fathers was not directed against the lawless- 
ness and brigandage of the laity and the unchastity and simony 
of the clergy. But when these disorders were at their height; 
when bishops presumed to settle the estates of the Church as 
dowers upon their daughters ; when dukes and counts put on 
public sale the bishoprics and abbacies lying within their 
respective territories; when the weak had no rights that the 
strong were bound to respect, a reaction set in, good sprang 
from excess of evil, and new life from a dissolution of the 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 369 

old. This reformation, destined to raise the clergy from the 
depths to which they had fallen to their former purity of life, 
honor, and prestige, commenced with the chair of St. Peter, 
in the person of Gregory F., and notably Leo IX. The re- 
formatory decrees of the Council of Rheims (a. d. 1049) are 
framed in language of unusual severity. 

It is refreshing to call to mind that, in the midst of the 
disorders, lawlessness, and anarchy of this age, there existed 
flourishing cathedral-schools at Rheims, Chartres, and Tours, 
conducted respectively by the distinguished masters, Gerbert 
(c. A. D. 970), Fulbert (f a. d. 1028),^ and Berengarius (f a. d. 
1088) ; and cloister-schools, not less flourishing, in the abbey 
of Marmoutiers (Majus monasterium), near Tours, which had 
been reformed by St. Majolus of Clugny, and in that of St. 
Benignus, at Dijon. But these schools, though excellent of 
their kind, could not compare with those of Normandy, dur- 
ing the eleventh century, as prosperous seats of learning. 
Such were those of the abbey of Fecamp and the monastery 
of Bee, under the direction of Lanfranc, the great theologian 
of his day, and of his still more illustrious disciple, Anselm. 
Both of these became afterward Archbishops of Canterbury. 

The German Empire.^ — This empire, formed after the death 
of Charles the Fat (a. d. 888), embraced the five nations of 
the East Franks, the Suabians, the Bavarians, the Thurin- 
gians, and the Saxons, and, after the time of St. Boniface, 
recognized the metropolitan church of Mentz as its ecclesias- 
tical center. The sufiragan sees of Mentz were Strasburg, 
"Worms, Spire, Constance, Chur, Augsburg, Eichstadt, and 
Wiirzburg. This number was afterward increased to twelve 
by the addition of the Saxon sees of Paderborn, Halberstadt, 
Hildesheim, and Verden. Prague was added in the year 973, 
and Olmiitz^ in 1063. 



' Of. on Fulbert of Chartres, Siolberg-Kerz, Pt. XXXIII., p. 492 sq. 

-Cf. the Chronicles of Regino, Ditmar of Mersehurg, Adam of Bremen, and 
Lambert of Hersfeld. Wittichindi monach. Corhej. Annales (to 957). Adelboldi 

Vita Henrici II. Wvpponis Vita Oonradi Saliei. Sigm. Calles, S.J., Annales 

Eccles. Germ., T. IV., c. 5. 

' See Freiburg, Ecol. Cycl., art. Olmiitz. (Tb.) 
VOL. II — 24 



370 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

Cologne was next made a metropolitan see, having as its 
suffragans the sees of Liege (formerly that of Tongres, and, 
until the year 708, called Maestricht), Utrecht, Miinster, Min- 
den, and Osnabriick. 

The metropolitan see of Treves was established at a very 
early date, and comprised the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and 
Verdun. 

In the year 798, Salzburg became the metropolitan see of 
the Bavarian bishoprics of Saben (called Brixen since the 
tenth century), Ereysing, Eatisbon, and Passau. The suffra- 
gan sees of the archiepiscopal see of Magdeburg, established 
A. D. 968, were Zeitz (called Naumburg since the year 1029), 
Merseburg, Meissen, Havelberg, and Brandenburg. The me- 
tropolitan see of Bremen and Hamburg had under it Olden- 
burg (since called Lubec), established in 952, and in 1052 
divided into the two bishoprics of Mecklenburg (afterward 
called Schwerin), and Eatzeburg. When Burgundy passed 
by inheritance to the kingdom of Germany, so also did the 
metropolitan see of Besangon, with its two suffragan bishop- 
rics of Basle and Lausanne, the former of which, however, 
had belonged to Germany since 888, and the archbishoprics 
of Lyons and Aries} 

In the first German council that can be properly so called, 
held in the year 894, during the reign of King Arnulph, at 
the royal villa of Tribur, decrees were passed, providing for 
the restoration of discipline and the strengthening of eccle- 
siastical authority. But scarcely had some degree of order 
been restored in the Church of Germany, when it vi'as again 
destroyed by the devastating incursions of the Hungarians, 
which commenced during the minority of Louis, the sou and 
successor of Arnulph. Otho I. (a. d. 936-973) engaged and 
totally defeated the Hungarians on the plain of Lech,^ and thus 
put an end to their depredations, saved the Church of Ger- 
many from the fate which had come upon that of France, and 
raised it to such a state of prosperity that it was far in ad- 

1 mUinger, Ch. H., Vol. III., pp. 218, 219. (Tr.) 

^Brunner, O.S.B., The Incursions of the Hungarians into Germany. Pro- 
gramme of St. Stephen, at xVugsburg, 1854. 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 371 

vanee of every church of European Christendom at that 
time. It is indeed true that during his reign Otho usually 
appointed the bishops of his kingdom, but in this instance 
there was some compensation made to the Church for the loss 
of her prerogative. The Saxon king was zealous, conscien- 
tious, and prudent, and rarely ever appointed a man to the 
office of bishop who was not distinguished by piety and 
learning. Hence the large number of great names that make 
his reign illustrious ; men who, whether considered in their 
character of temporal rulers or spiritual guides, were truly 
the protectors and fathers of the people. Such were TJl- 
rich, Bishop of Augsburg; Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne, 
and brother of Otho I.; Adalbert, Archbishop of Magdeburg; 
and Frederic, Archbishop of Mentz, who, notwithstanding his 
doubtful course as a politician, is worthy of being ranked 
with the great prelates of this reign. Then among the mon- 
asteries which gained a high reputation were those of Corvey, 
where Wittekind, the historian, resided, and of St. Gall, 
where ITotker and Ekkehard were abbots. Giesebrecht, writ- 
ing of this age, lays aside, for a time, his habitual prejudice, 
and gives utterance to the following words :^ "It is, in- 
deed, very true that the opening of the tenth century, which 
has been called, without limitation, a century of barbarism, 
was distinguished by a decline from the perfection in the arts 
and sciences reached at the close of the Carlovingian era. 
But about the middle of the century a new impulse was 
given to civilization in Gerjnany, and then, for the first time, 
were the more northern countries penetrated with its true 
spirit. . . . The Eoman Church has enrolled many of the 
bishops of that age among her saints, and to these does our 
German Fatherland owe a deep debt of gratitude." 

Piligrim, Bishop of Passau, who, on three occasions, made 
pilgrimages to the Holy Land, also exercised a most beneficial 
influence upon the church of Germany; but the assertion 
that he obtained from Pope Leo VII. the metropolitan dig- 

1 Giesebrecht, Hist, of the Times of the German Emperors, 2d ed., Vol. I. pp. 
329, 330. Also, Schefel, in his novel, Ekkehard, Prankft. 1864, etc., based or, 
profound historical studies, furnishes an interesting picture of those times. 



372 Period 2. Upoch 1. Fart 2. Chapter 4. 



nity of Lorch, and maintained it despite tlie efforts of the 
Archbishop of Salzburg, rests on the authority of entirely 
fictitious documents.' 

Under the two succeeding Othos, the son and grandson of 
Otho the Great, to whose zeal and energy the Church is in- 
debted for the choice of the two Roman pontiffs, Gregory V. 
and Sylvester II., the election of bishops was left compara- 
tively free, and in consequence the bishoprics of G-ermanj 
were filled by men worthy of their high oflace. Such was 
the powerful chancellor of the empire, Willigis, Archbishop 
of Mentz; St. Wolfgang, Bishop of Eatisbon; St. Gerhard, 
Bishop of Toul ; St. Conrad, Bishop of Constance ; Piligrim, 
Bishop of Passau; Bernward, Bishop of Hildesheim (a. d. 
993-1022), the tutor of Otho III., a man whose learning, abil- 
ity, and artistic tastes placed him in the very front rank of 
his age ; and his successor, Godehard (a. d. 1022-1038), distin- 
guished by his gift of prophecy and for the adrtiirable discipline 
which he maintained in his cathedral church.^ The bishopric 
of Merseburg was restored, and, with the approbation of Pope 
John XVIIL, another see established at Bamberg in the reign 
of Henry II., and conferred upon Eberhard, the chancellor of 
the empire. The establishment of this see called forth all 
the solicitous zeal of this pious Emperor. He appeared at 
the Council of Frankfort (a. d. 1006), and, casting himself 
upon his knees, besought the Fathers to consent to its erec- 
tion. In the following year he succeeded in putting an end 
to the controversy concerning the jurisdiction of the convent 

1 Cf. Diimmler, Piligrim of Passau and the Archbishopric of Lorch, Lps. 1834 
and Miitermuller, "Was Piligrim a Forger of Documents? in the Periodical, The 
Catholic, 1867, Vol. 47, p. 333 sq. Waitenbach, Hist. Sources of Germany, p. 39. 

2 The latest researches concerning this age have developed rich materials for 
monographies, among which are the following: Archbishop Bruno of Cologne, 
hy Pieler, Arnsberg, 1851; by Mej/er, Berl. 1867; hj Sckulze, Halle, 1867; St. 
Ulrich of Augsburg, by Raffer, Augsbg. 1866; St. Wolfgang, by Sulzieck, Ra- 
tisb. 1844; St. MatiMa, Queen of Henry I., by Claries, Qucdlinbg. 1867; St. 
Adelaide, Queen of Otho I., by Hiijfer, Berl. 1856; SS. Bernwa'd and Gode- 
hard, by Krcdz, Hildeshm. 1840, being the 3d part of " The Caihedral of Jllhles- 
heim," with illustrations. SuUbec/c, O.S.B., Life of St. Godehard, Bishop and 
Patron Saint of the Diocese of Hildesheim, Eatisb. 1867. Ofrorer, The Services 
rendered to the Empire by the German Clergy at the Beginning of the Tenth 
Century [Freiburg Review, Vol. XIX., n. 1). 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 373 

of nuns at Gandersheim, which had been carried on for some 
time, with considerable temper, by Archbishop WilUffis and 
a large following of German bishops, on the one hand, and 
on the other bj' Bernward of Hildesheim and Pope Sylves- 
ter II. 

Although Henry II., in appointing to bishoprics, frequently 
conducted himself as arbitrarily as ever Otho I. had done, 
still it is but simple justice to him to say that he never se- 
lected one for the episcopal office who was unworthy of the 
dignity. The great number of bishops equally eminent for 
virtue and zeal, who occupied the sees of Germany during 
his reign, afford proof of this statement. To instance a few 
out of many, there were Meimverk of Paderborn, St. Walbodo 
of Liege, Burkhard of Worms, and Ditmar of Merseburg, 
who is superior to any of the German historians who lived 
before the days of Lambert of Ilersfeld. 

Among the scliools of that age which acquired the greatest 
name and celebrity were the cathedral-school of Liege, 
founded by Bishop ITotker (f a. d. 1008), and those of Fulda, 
Hildesheim, and Paderborn, the last of which was founded 
by Bishop Meinwerk. 

The royal house of Saxony became extinct on the death of 
Henry II., and it was only by the wisdom, energy, and una- 
nimity of the bishops in choosing his successor, that civil war, 
with all its direful consequences, was averted. Conrad, Duke 
of Franconia, the Salic, was elected without opposition, and 
by the wisdom of his administration fully verified the fore- 
sight of those who had raised him to the head of the German 
Empire. His episcopal appointments were excellent, as is 
proven by the fact, that, during his reign, flourished such 
men as Poppo of Strasburg, Reginald of Spire, the great bib- 
lical scholar Bruno of Wiirzburg, and St. Bardo, Archbishop 
of Mentz, who, as Abbot of Hersfeld, gained such considera- 
tion for his convent that the monastery of Fulda relinquished 
for a time in its favor the ancient right of appointing every 
alternate archbishop of Mentz. In the reign of Conrad 
II. are also to be found the names of Altman of Passau 
(a. d. 1065-1090) and Unwan of Bremen, well known as the 
zealous apostle of !f[orthern Scandinavia, whose prudence 



374 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

won for him the friendship of IsTorthern kings and Slavic 
princes. 

Henry III. — who, in wisdom, purity of purpose, and single- 
ness of mind, was not inferior to Charlemagne— deserves well 
of the Church for the share he had in raising to the Chair of 
St. Peter the Popes Clement II., Damasus II., Leo IX., and 
Victor 11. He regarded clerical incontinency and simony as 
the most dangerous evils that could come upon the Church, 
and exerted himself to correct the one and suppress the other. 
St. Peter Damian, who will not be suspected of any undue 
partiality, in speaking of Henry in connection with the vice 
of simony, says that, after God, he was the means of destroy- 
ing the hydra-headed monster. The Emperor's efforts were 
ably seconded by Luitpold, the excellent Archbishop of Mentz. 

If the Pope was at this time in a position to exercise a legiti- 
mate influence on the Church of Germany ^ it was entirely due to 
the policy of Henry, by whose exertions the Holy See regained 
its ancient authority and consideration. And that the 'Holy 
See did, in matter of fact, wield such influence, is shown from 
the words of Wazon, Bishop of Liege, to the Emperor : "As," 
says he, " we owe obedience to the Pope, so do we owe fidel- 
ity to you." 

But unfortunately, during the minority of his son, Henry 
IV., a greater part of which was spent under the evil influ- 
ence of Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen, simony, the prolific 
source of nearly all the evils that then afflicted the Church, 
again revived, and became more menacing than ever before. 
To it may be traced the origin of that fierce and pernicious 
controversy between the Papacy and the Empire, which was 
not brought to a close until after it had lasted through two 
centuries, and entailed the most disastrous results. 

Italy} — This country suffered perhaps more than any other 
from the migrations of the barbarians. Besides the general 
collapse of the established order of things, the inhabitants, 
being orthodox Christians, were treated with great violence 
by these fierce defenders of Arianism. But the Church did 



' See the writings of Atto, Bishop of Veroelli, RatMrius of Verona, Luiiprand 
of Cremona, and those of Peier Damian, further down, Ch. V. 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 375 

not lose heart. Chastened and strengthened by the trials 
through which she passed, she went forth with the vigor of 
new life, and the energy that comes of conflict, to the work 
of subduing these savage hordes, and bringing them within 
the bosom of the Church. And her efforts were not in vain. 
Arianism was vanquished, and, from the moment of its dis- 
appearance, a deep and earnest religious feeling pervaded the 
whole nation. Churches and cloisters arose in great num- 
bers, and were amply endowed by munificent kings. 

Anselm, Duke of Friuli, brother-in-law of the Lombard 
king Aistolphus, and founder and first abbot of the famous 
abbey of Nonantula, in the province of Modena, had, under 
his direction, scattered about in various convents, eleven hun- 
dred and forty-four monks. But as the Lombard power ap- 
proached its decline, so also did this flourishing church cease 
to be what it once had been. Paul Warnefried, the national 
historian, complains that in his time the once honored church 
of St. John, at Monza, had come into the possession of incon- 
tinent and simoniacal priests. 

Matters were somewhat improved during the domination 
of the Franks, and might have gone on well enough, had not 
the archbishops of Ravenna, and particularly Archbishop 
John (a. d. 850-878), persisted in asserting their independence, 
and refusing to obey the Holy See. The influence of the Ger- 
man emperors was too frequently interrupted to produce any 
permanent result. The Council of Pavia (a. d. 1022), presided 
over by Pope Benedict VIII., passed a number of decrees 
against the unchastity of ecclesiastics, but to little purpose. 
The clergy felt reassured by the evil example of Guido, Arch- 
bishop of Milan, and refused to leave ofF the practices of 
simony and their incontinent habits. . The inhabitants of 
Milan were divided into two opposing parties — the one com- 
posed of worldly ecclesiastics and vicious seculars, represent- 
ing the aristocracy, and powerful by reason of rank, wealth, 
and a community of interests ; and the other of those who 
represented the bulk of the people, and were under the lead- 
ership of the two priests Ariald and Landidf, who, prompted 
by zeal for holy purity, and strengthened by the buoyant 
enthusiasm which the consciousness of laboring in a good 



376 Period 2. Epoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

catise always inspires, assaulted the defenders of simony and 
concubinage with uncommon vigor and determination. Those 
composing the popular party were at first treated with ridi- 
cule and contempt by their supercilious and aristoci'atic oppo- 
nents, and were opprobriously called Patarini,^ or fools ; but 
thej'- accepted and appropriated the name, and, like the epi- 
thet Gueux^ of a later age, from having been a term of re- 
proach and insult, became a title of distinction and honor. 
By the year 1057 they had so increased in numbers and in- 
fluence that they compelled the body of the clergy to sub- 
scribe a document requiring the universal enforcement of the 
rule of celibacj'. They also prevailed upon the people not to 
receive tDjj sacraments at the hands of the married clergy. 
The party of the Patarini continued to be augmented by 
fresh recruits in harmony with its principles, and, extending 
its ramifications over the whole of Lombardy, assumed the 
character and proportions of a vast confederation, under the 
name of the Pataria, which, in the Milanese dialect, signi- 
fies a popular faction. 

In the year 1061, Ariald, gathering about him a number of 
followers as generous, as zealous, and as enthusiastic as him- 
self, introduced the canonical mode of community-life into 
the city of Milan, where it had never before been practiced. 
On the death of Landulf, his place was filled by his brother, 
Ilerlembalcl, a knight and a captain, who had just returned 
from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He thought of with- 
drawing from the world and entering a monastery, but from 
this purpose he was dissuaded by Ariald, who besought him 
to defend the cause of God by aruis, while he himself would 
do battle with spiritual weapons. Herlembald set out for 

1 Either from the city of Patara, in Lycia, or from the Pater Noster, their 
only prayer, or more probably from the Milanese word pataria. (Tr.) 

2 A name taken by the insurgents in the Netherlands. whO; during the six- 
teenth century, rebelled against the Spanish government. When they had, on 
one occasion, forced themselves into the presence of the regent Margaret, sue 
was seen to turn pale through fright; when the Count de Barlaimont whis- 
pered to her, in Prench, "Let not a troop of beggars [Gueiuc) alarm you." The 
words were heard by some of those present, and the title given to them by the 
count was afterward adopted by the rebels in one of their drinking parties. See 
Schiller's treschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande. (Tk.) 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 377 

Rome, to present himself to the Pope, before entering upon 
his task, and, while there, received the consecrated banner of 
St. Peter,-which was to be unfurled, if necessary; was ap- 
pointed standard-bearer of the Roman and Universal Church' 
(vexillifer Romanae et Universalis Ecclesiae), and, just be- 
fore his return, in 1066, was handed a bull to take back with 
him, containing an excommunication of Guido, Archbishop 
of Milan. The promulgation of the sentence was the signal 
for the breaking out of a popular tumult among the fickle 
Milanese (a. d. 1067), in which Ariald fell a victim to his im- 
petuous zeal. His body was not found till ten months later 
but, even after that lapse of time, there were no indications 
of decay. Both people and clergy, recognizing in this cir 
cumstance an incontestable proof of his sanctity, now vied 
with each other in paying him the honors of a martyr. Alex 
ander II., coming to Milan shortly after, took his cause in 
hand, and, after the necessary preliminaries, placed him ort 
the roll of the saints of the Church. 

The origin of this popular movement, which was the occasion 
of so much good to the Church and of so complete a reforma- 
tion of the clergy, may be directly traced to the silent cells of 
the Camaldolites and Vallombrosians.^ The gravity of man- 
ner, moderation, and firmness of character displayed by the 
papal legate, Peter Damian, had no small share in bringing 
back the clergy to a better temper of mind, and in inspiring 

^Arnulphi J^Iediolan. gesta Mediolanensium, in Pertz, T. VIII. Landulfi seni- 
oris Hist. Mediolan. (Muraiori, Seriptt., T. IV.; Pertz, T. VIII.) Bonizonis 
Sutrien. Episo. lib. ad amicum [Oefele, Seriptt. rer. Boicar., T. II.) B. Andreae 
(disciple of Ariald) Vita St. Arialdi and Landulfi de St. Paulo (his contempo- 
raries), Vita- St. Arialdi [PuricelU de St. martyrib. Arialdo et Herlembaldo., 
Mediol. 1657; also in BoUand. Acta SS. ad d. 27. m. Junii). Andrew gives the 
following description of the Milanese clergy: "Alii cum oanibus et accipitribus 
hue illucque pervagantes, alii vero tabernarii, alii usurarii existebant, cuncti 
fere cum publiois uxoribus sive scortis suam ignominiose ducebant vitam." Cf. 
also Baron, ad a. 1061, n. 48. Muratori, Hist, of Italy, Pt. VI., p. 335. ®Acta 
Ecoles ITediolan., a Carolo Cardinal! S. Praxedis archiepiscopo condita, etc., ed. 
nova, Mediol. 1844, T. I. *The Pataria of Milan {New Sion, 1845, uros. 60-63, 
May). Will, The Beginnings of the Restoration, Pt. II., p. 100 so. Hefele, Hist, 
of Counc, Vol. IV., p. 749 sq. 

»Seetheendof §198. 



ilB Period 2. jSpoch 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

many of them with sentiments of sincere sorrow and repent- 
ance for their past lives. 

Finally, the success of the test of ordeal by fire, which Peter, 
a Vallambrosian monk, called from this circumstance Peiero/ 
the Fire (Petrus Igneus), undertook for the purpose of proving 
the guilt of Guido, Archbishop of Milan, contributed much 
to raise the credit and strengthen the influence of the Pataria. 

In recounting the causes which brought on the deplorable 
condition of the clergy during the tenth and eleventh centu- 
ries, it should be constantly borne in mind, that one of tho 
most potent was the almost total neglect of theological stud 
ies. It is indeed true, that there were two schools of philoso 
phy at Milan, and three training schools for ecclesiastics art 
mentioned as then existing at Parma, Bologna, and Eaenza 
but they were all of little importance, and it is not clear thai 
the course of studies in any of them included more than the 
Trivium and the Quadrivium. 

The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy} — The institution of the paro- 
chial system by Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, had earlj 
consolidated Christianity in England. A clergy distinguished 
for moral elevation'of character and purity of life, trained in 
the numerous cloister-schools — all of which, but particularly 
that of Glastonbury, "the nursery of Saints," were then in a 
flourishing condition — hastened, by their example, their labors, 
and their single-minded earnestness, the work of spiritual re- 
generation. Here, as elsewhere, the important and disinter- 
ested labors rendered to society by these men, procured for 
Church property an exemption from all burdens and taxes, 
with the one exception of the '^rinoda necessitas," or the levyi 
for the maintenance of the army, and the repair of roads,' 
bridges, and fortresses. The Church of England entertaining 
forEome, whence came her first missionaries, the grateful affec- 
tion of a daughter for a mother, always maintained the closest 



' Beda, Chronicon Anglo-Saxonicum, ed. Ingram., Lond. 1823, 4to. Guilielmi 
Malmesburtensis de gestis regum Anglor., libb. V. (to 1126) ; de gest. pontificum 
Anglor. {Savile, rer. Anglic, scriptt., Lond. 1596, f.) Ingulphi Abbatis Croy- 

landensis descriptio compilata until 1066, in Savile. Alfordi Annal. Ecol. 

Brit., Leod. 1663, T. II. and III. Lingard, Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon 
Church, Newcastle, 1806, 2 vela. 



§ 200. The Church in the Leading Countries of Europe. 379 

union with the See of Peter. Eight of the Anglo-Saxon kings, 
inspired by the holiest motives, went on pilgrimages to the 
shrine of the apostles. It was also one of England's kings — 
probably either Ina of Wessex (a. d. 725), or OfFa of Mercia 
(a. d. 790) — who first introduced the custom of paying Ptter's 
Pence (Rome-Scot), with the design of creating a permanent 
fund to support English ecclesiastical schools at Eome. The 
head of every family, having a yearly income of thirty solidi, 
paid to the bishop of the diocese, in which he resided, one 
silver penny toward the fund. 

There sprung up, around the great metropolitan sees of Can- 
terbury and York, a number of suffragan bishoprics, which 
were soon in a flourishing condition. 

At the Synod of Oloveshove (a. d. 803), twelve bishops rec- 
ognized Ethelhard, Archbishop of Canterbury, as their metro- 
politan. 

The Archbishop of York had three suffragans.^ 

If, on the one hand, the young Church of England possessed 
in the quality of her hierarchy a safe pledge of stability and 
vigorous life, she was, on the other, equally sure that the close 
relations and frequent intercourse kept up between her clergy and 
the Church of Ireland would be a guaranty for their proficiency in 
scientific and theological knowledge. It was thus that Venerable 
£ede,^ of ITorthumbria, acquired in his own day the title of 
teacher of his people, and has been recognized as such by 
every succeeding age down to our own time. Egbert, his dis- 
ciple, the son of a king. Archbishop of York, and, as an inde- 
fatigable student, the rival of his master, was the educator of 
the celebrated Alcuin, to whom the school of York owed its 
European reputation. But here, as on the continent, the 



'The suflFragans of the Archbishop of Canterbury were: Kochester, in Kent; 
London, in Essex ; Dunwich and Helmham (afterward Norwich), in East An- 
glia; Dorchester, Winchester, and Sherburne (afterward Salisbury), in Wessex; 
Selsey (afterward Chichester), in Sussex ; Litchfield (afterward Coventry), Here- 
ford, Worcester, and Lincoln, in Mercia. The suffragans of the Archbishop of 
York were: Sydnacester (formerly Lindisfarne, and afterward Durham), Hex- 
ham (which was destroyed in the devastations of the Danes), and Withern 
(Casa Candida), the bishopric founded by Ninian for the Southern Picts in Gal- 
loway. DoUinger, Ch. H., Vol. III., p. 255. (Tb.) 

■'See 2 171. 



380 Period 2. E-pock 1. Part 2. Chapter 4. 

progress of the Church was for a time interrupted by the in- 
vasions of the Barbarians. England was then blessed in pos 
sessing iu Alfred the Great^ a king equal to the emergency 
who, not content with having liberated his country from the 
yoke of the Danes (a. d. 880), forced these now vanquished 
conquerors to embrace the Christian faith. After having dis- 
pelled the danger with which the invaders threatened tho 
nation, he set to work to prevent or correct an evil of a dif- 
ferent nature, but not less formidable. Lawlessness had in- 
creased and ignorance become general, and, to provide a rem- 
edy for both, Alfred framed and published a new code of 
laws, gathered about h